Support transit

In Olympia, legislators still have not voted on a transportation plan. At the federal level, highway dollars that are available for projects are ever shrinking. To best use the existing infrastructure and to take our future in our own hands, support public transit.

To those who will not support public transit because they do not use it: That is a weak-minded argument. I do not have kids in school anymore, why should I pay for the school district? Because it helps the community prosper when young people are educated.

Public transit helps seniors and persons with disabilities stay independent. Commuters, including students, are given a choice and, if they choose public transit, road space is freed up for businesses to prosper.

The electric buses, or Central City Line, are only one project in a 10-year plan. As with any proposed plan, future transit boards can alter or direct funds for better use.

Public transit has operated on 0.6 cents sales tax since voters saw the wisdom of backfilling for state funding lost as a result of Initiative 695. I trust current voters will see the wisdom and support Spokane Transit Authority Proposition 1.

Jim Fitzgerald

Spokane Valley