Wrong way

Tim Eyman must have had an awesome Matchbox car collection, because he certainly has a love affair with automobiles. That’s fine, but when this obsession comes at the expense of other government services, other forms of transportation and local control over revenue, it becomes public policy concern.

Eyman on Friday filed an initiative for the 2008 ballot, and it is yet another attempt to keep cars in the fast lane and alternatives up on blocks, which is an odd stance for a man whose Web site is called Voters Want More Choices. The initiative would mandate that 10 percent of the money that comes from the sales tax on automobiles go toward a traffic congestion relief account. Currently, it all goes into the general fund, where it can be spent on any government service, such as schools.

Under the proposal, the Legislature would then make spending decisions based on three priorities: opening car pool lanes to single-occupancy vehicles in non-peak hours, synchronizing traffic lights on heavily traveled roads, and beefing up roadside assistance crews so vehicles that break down or are involved in accidents can be cleared away more quickly. Eyman estimates the account would carry about $85 million a year, but it’s not clear if that much is needed to accomplish his goals, or how much relief can be derived from those three methods.

Other forms of transportation are not included in the priorities, though they also serve to ease congestion. That’s not surprising given his other transportation initiatives.

Initiative 745 called for 90 percent of all transportation money to be spent on roads. At the time it was on the ballot, 40 percent of commuters in Seattle used some form of mass transit. Initiative 776 would have put an end to the $15 registration fee and special excise tax (approved by local voters) designed to pay off Sound Transit bonds in four urban counties on the West Side. If those measures had succeeded, there would be even more cars clogging the roads.

And, of course, there is Initiative 695, which triggered the Legislature’s adoption of cheaper car tabs. That measure did cripple mass transit, with the dire cuts at Spokane Transit Authority being the best local example.

Eyman’s latest proposal is much like I-776 in that it asks voters statewide to determine the fate of transportation funding in the few counties that have routine traffic jams. For instance, there are no car pool lanes east of King County, but voters in all counties would determine that issue. If state or local governments were to impose tolls on solo drivers using car pool lanes, the proceeds could not be spent on road maintenance or safety, mass transit, bike lanes or other alternatives.

That’s not to say that East Side voters shouldn’t be concerned. If the city of Spokane were to move ahead with red-light cameras, it would lose control over the money raised from fines, even if the Police Department identified higher priorities, such as traffic safety or property crimes. The initiative even goes so far as to divert money set aside for transportation-related public art.

Like all Eyman initiatives, there is a knee-jerk appeal. Everybody wants traffic jams cleared, and most people drive. But as always, the path is more perilous than it appears.