West Side road, transit package failing
SEATTLE – Voters in congested King, Snohomish and Pierce counties were trouncing a tax package to pay for at least $18 billion worth of road and transit projects.
Proposition 1 was trailing badly, with 56 percent opposed to 44 percent in favor, with about 19 percent of the precincts reporting Tuesday night. It had only 43 percent support in Snohomish and Pierce counties and not much better in King.
The plan was the most ambitious and expensive transportation package ever placed on a Washington ballot, and was described as America’s largest local tax package.
Supporters held out hope that a final influx of votes from liberal King County could pull it out of the fire in coming days, but opponents declared victory.
“It’s over,” said a jubilant Mark Baerwaldt, spokesman for the opponents, predicting that later votes would widen the gap even more. “It cost too much and did too little and took too long. People weren’t buying the proponents’ sales pitch.”
He said challengers will happily come to the table to help craft a “Plan B” fallback position.
Aaron Toso, disappointed spokesman for the “Roads & Transit” campaign, didn’t rule out a come-from-behind finish, but conceded, “It will be tough to turn the tide.”
The election was the first key test vote of a regional approach to help pay for ultra-expensive “mega-projects” such as freeways and bridges, and efforts to expand light rail and transit.
Proposition 1 was described as a “shotgun wedding” between die-hard foes – transit advocates and those who want to build more miles of road.
The plan had something for everyone – $7 billion for more than two dozen highway and bridge projects, including a new Lake Washington State Route 520 floating bridge, and $11 billion to expand light rail and other transit in the region.
The proposition, which also presumed state and federal dollars as well as tolls and other user fees, included two sizable tax increases. It included a sales tax increase of 6 cents per $10 purchase, costing the average household an estimated $150 a year, and an increase in car-tab tax by $80 per $10,000 of vehicle value.
The vote was on the ballot in most heavily populated areas of the three big counties. The unified measure had to pass in both the transit district and the road district – the boundaries don’t fully match up.
Gov. Chris Gregoire and key transportation leaders in the Legislature strongly endorsed Proposition 1, saying Olympia can no longer afford to fully finance mega-projects.
Opponents, including King County Executive Ron Sims, some environmentalists and road advocates, didn’t like the mix of projects.
The proposal called for building 186 miles of road, including a $1 billion down payment for a new 520 bridge, $900 million for widening of Interstate 405 between Bellevue and Renton, extending Highway 167 from Tacoma to Puyallup, and expanding the highway capacity in south King County; 50 new miles of light rail; 12,000 new park & ride slots; and expanding commuter rail and regional bus service.
Sound Transit is building 16 miles of light rail between downtown Seattle and the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The proposal was to extend east across Lake Washington, south to Tacoma and north beyond Lynnwood.
The road portion was divided to provide $4 billion for King and roughly $1.5 billion apiece for Snohomish and Pierce counties. Most of the transit spending, $10 billion, was earmarked for light rail.
The total, $18 billion, is the cost in 2006 dollars. Adding inflation, financing and operations could boost that to $47 billion over the next half-century. Opponents said the true number could be closer to $160 billion, assuming that existing Sound Transit taxes extend at least through 2057.