Transit plan moves forward to fall ballot

Snatching what we hope will be victory from the jaws of defeat, another transportation measure will come before voters this November.

Last November, voters rejected a massive roads and transit measure that would have added 50 miles of new light rail to the 20 miles now under construction, but would have also funded several road projects that ballooned the cost of the measure and scared off voters.

Regional transportation is back on the ballot, but this time it’s a streamlined, transit-only plan with environmental sustainability as a guiding principle in the design of this package.

With high gas prices, and renewed pressure to drill in pristine areas like the Arctic refuge and off our shores, it’s critical we find oil-free transportation alternatives.

What the measure says
The Sound Transit measure has three principal elements. First, it offers a massive expansion of express bus service throughout King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.

Next, it offers a major increase in service—from 9 to 15 round-trips—on the very successful Sounder commuter rail service between Lakewood/Tacoma and Seattle, it also lengthens platforms to accommodate longer trains.

It would also add 34 miles of new light rail, extending the 20 miles under construction to Lynwood in the north, east to Bellevue and Overlake, and south to Federal Way. A streetcar would connect light rail in the heart of Seattle to another segment planned to service the University of Washington. New segments would start opening in 2018 and all new segments would be completed by 2023.

The measure will cost each adult, on average, $69 per year, financed with a tax of 5 cents on every $10 purchase.

Traveling green
Environment Washington has long argued that providing more transportation choices, particularly light rail because of its high capacity, is one of the key strategies to reducing global warming pollution. To its credit, Sound Transit has undertaken the effort to prove it by developing ground-breaking climate impact methodologies to measure the positive impact of this proposal to reduce global warming pollution. These tools, developed by Sound Transit contractors, are likely to become the gold standard across the country for analyzing climate impacts from major transportation projects.

The November ballot measure will reduce a significant amount of carbon emissions associated with taking cars off the road.

“Washington needs to think ahead,” said Environment Washington Program Director Bill LaBorde. “If we are going to meet the pollution reductions that scientists say are needed to avoid the worst effects of climate change, we need to cut pollution from transportation. More light rail is exactly the kind of thing Washington will need to create a 21st century transportation system.”