Voters Rejecting Transit Proposal

Wed., March 15, 1995

From Staff And Wire Reports

A $6.7 billion transit plan that included construction of a commuter rail system was being rejected Tuesday by voters in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.

With most of the vote counted, including returns from more than three-fourths of the precincts in King County, the proposal was trailing 170,436 to 152,841, a 52.7 percent no vote.

The plan, which would be financed by increases in local sales tax and vehicle license fees, plus state and federal aid, was losing heavily in Pierce and Snohomish counties and was favored by less than 52 percent in King, which had more votes than the other two combined.

Supporters said the rail and bus system would be critical to move people around a region expected to grow by another 500,000 residents in the next 15 years. Opponents said that despite the huge cost, there would be little relief from freeway congestion and hardly anything done to solve transportation problems in most of the region’s growing suburbs.

The plan would be one of the largest public works projects in state history at a time when taxpayers have demanded governments spend less. Initiative 601, passed by state voters in 1993, limits state spending and the Legislature is considering a long list of proposed tax cuts.

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