Yesterday, the Seattle Times took a skeptical view of Dino Rossi's statewide transportation plan coming to fruition. The article voiced four potential problem spots:
- Rossi's idea to replace the existing four-lane Highway 520 bridge with one that could accommodate eight lanes may not fly with residents on the west side of Lake Washington, who have opposed similar plans. And previous proposals to replace the viaduct with a tunnel have been controversial.- The cost estimates in Rossi's plan may not be accurate. State Department of Transportation officials say the numbers don't take into account the recent rapid inflation in construction costs.
- Two-thirds of the money for his plan would come from sales taxes that currently go into the state general fund, which pays for education, health care and other services. He'd likely face stiff opposition trying to use that money for road projects.
- His idea to shift $690 million from Sound Transit to pay for car-pool lanes also is controversial. Sound Transit officials said moving the money would require voter approval.
Individually those are all fair point. Rossi will have a challenging time getting those components through the Democratic Legislature if he is elected. In the same vein, it would be fair to argue that some elements of Rossi's proposal sure look like a starting point for negotiations with that same Legislature.
Keeping that in mind, there is a bigger picture difference at play. We here in the Puget Sound area are always quick to get into a big, bloody scrum arguing about the details of transportation plans. What's going on in the Governor's race though?
Does Christine Gregoire have a plan? If you consider interminable delays on making a decision on the Viaduct and 520 a plan, sure. Or if you consider a deeply problematic ferry system or failure to maintain basic infrastructure a plan then you're good too.
In the meantime, Rossi is putting an emphasis on building the roads projects that residents in the Puget Sound area's congested sububs and exurbs have long been denied by the state - including the latest round of inaction after the failure of last year's Prop. 1.
After years of Republican inability to put together a coherent message on transportation, Dino Rossi is the candidate that actually has a transportation plan that targets long overdue congestion relief projects. The Democratic incumbent doesn't, nor does she have much of a record to tout on the topic either.
Posted by Eric Earling at September 09, 2008 07:32 AM | Email ThisThose Sound Transit officials sure have it rigged against the public. To change their operation or transfer funds requires 'voter approval', but when they changed the rules to establish Sound Transit in the first place, they declared that obtaining voter approval for their backroom rule change was not part of the game. The poor dears would all have been out of a job, had the public had a voice at that time.
Posted by: Insufficiently Sensitive on September 9, 2008 08:12 AMin any event it will take a leader to do what is right even though it might not be popular.
Posted by: Ron K on September 9, 2008 08:12 AMViaduct: Tear down. Boulevard.
520: Immediate closure. It's unsafe.
405 between Exts 1 and 4: Expand to 4 lanes either way.
Light Rail: Cancel. Shift money back to buses.
Taxis: Increase licenses. Explore as an option for late night public transit -- get rid of empty buses running at all hours.
Posted by: John Bailo on September 9, 2008 08:24 AMAt least Rossi has a plan that can be discussed and debated.
Posted by: SouthernRoots on September 9, 2008 09:22 AMOther recent times headlines have been about how mean Reichert is being to Burner, the "turbulent" first year of Mayorship for Palin, etc.
Is it just me, or does anyone else notice how the normally more conservative Seattle Times turns into a DNC attack dog for a few months before every election?
Posted by: johnny on September 9, 2008 09:26 AMSomehow I doubt it.
Posted by: Stuart Jenner on September 9, 2008 09:46 AMIs this a joke? The Times has never been conservative, unless of course you are Karl Marx the Times is a liberal rag.
Posted by: pbj on September 9, 2008 09:55 AMI was mentally comparing it to the Seattle PI, and of the two I believe the Times is the more conservative. Actually, compared to the LA Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Times, and NY Times, I would still say it's more conservative. I read newspapers in a lot of cities as I travel a lot, and I've seen much much worse.
Except during elections season. Then the "journalism" staff can't help itself and decides to become the DNC cheerleaders and attack dogs.
Posted by: johnny on September 9, 2008 11:07 AMI've also noticed that when there is an article in the Times describing the 8th CD race, there's usually a headshot of a smiling Darcy Burner to accompany the article, but never a picture of Reichert.
Why does this woman get a free pass and have the ear of everyone in the Seattle media?
My new yard sign...
"Darcy Burner for Housewife - Dave Reichert for Congress"
Posted by: Smoley on September 9, 2008 01:31 PMSunday and Monday are the most read editions of newspapers. Tuesday readership is usually the smallest of the week - sometimes a third off higher readership of the later part of the week.
Posted by: johnny on September 9, 2008 02:04 PMSo if the bureacrats want to critique the cost estimates, then they should look to themselves...why haven't they updated the official costs estimates for those projects in their transportation planning documents?
Rossi had to use official cost estimates. Anything else would recieve even greater criticism.
Posted by: Chad Minnick on September 10, 2008 08:49 AM