Washington Policy Center Transportation Forum:
After Referendum 51, Now What?
2003-02
Referendum 51, the package of nearly $8 billion in higher gas taxes and other fees to pay for proposed transportation projects, went down to resounding defeat last November. That has everyone wondering, now what? What can state leaders do next to deal with our state’s transportation mess?
To answer that question, Washington Policy Center and The Seattle Times hosted a lunch forum on December 19 in downtown Seattle. Jim Vesely, editorial page editor for The Times, moderated a panel of distinguished transportation experts, each with his own ideas of what people want and how we should solve both state and regional traffic problems.
We know one thing people don’t want: a big gas tax increase. Referendum 51 was rejected by a 61% vote, with 38 of Washington’s 39 counties voting against the measure. The tax increase would have given Washington the highest state gas tax in the nation. And even if the high tax were acceptable, polls show that voters don’t trust the government to spend the money wisely. They want to see reforms in how the Department of Transportation does business, such as cutting waste and getting rid of outdated rules that drive up costs, before they will trust government with new revenue.
Panelists at our forum were Kemper Freeman, owner of Bellevue Square and sponsor of a plan called End Gridlock Now; State Senator Jim Horn, the new Chairman of the Senate Highways and Transportation Committee; Andrew Johnson, executive policy advisor to Governor Gary Locke; and King County Councilmember Rob McKenna, who is helping draft a new Regional Transportation Improvement District plan to put before voters next November.
Kemper Freeman opened the discussion by pointing out that the most important and divisive issue in the Northwest today is transportation. Mr. Freeman cited the region’s staggering congestion – now ranked second worst in the nation – and the financial controversy surrounding Sound Transit as two of the main reasons transportation is at the forefront of current public debate.
Mr. Freeman outlined his End Gridlock Now plan, explaining it would reduce congestion 25% though a modest 6% increase in highway lane miles. The plan proposes adding more road capacity at key chokepoints as the most cost-effective way to reduce congestion and improve the overall road system. He also recommended a second proposal to create a new and improved regional bus system by spending $4 billion – half going to new busses and half to making the system free to riders.
Andrew Johnson, top policy advisor to the governor, outlined the transportation funding problems faced by the state. He explained that inflation continually erodes the purchasing power of the 23-cent per gallon gas tax. According to the Department of Transportation, if our funding model does not change, Washington will soon rank 49th in per capita spending on transportation.
Governor Locke’s current-law budget only includes enough money to preserve and maintain our existing system, he said. The Governor has acknowledged that he and legislators need to listen to the message the people sent by rejecting Referendum 51. The Governor is committed to supporting new proposals that help address the accountability and efficiency concerns of voters. At the forum Mr. Johnson was not able to describe the proposals in detail, because the Governor plans to announce them during the coming legislative session.
Senate Transportation and Highways Committee chairman Jim Horn provided the viewpoint of a state legislator. He said that Referendum 51 was a chance for voters to hit a home run for transportation. Now that the measure is dead, policymakers are forced to proceed more slowly in their efforts to fix the transportation system.
Any new plan must be different from the one that voters turned down. It should concentrate on highways of statewide significance because those corridors are essential to the commerce that fuels our economy. The road projects that are funded must also make meaningful contributions to the state’s quality of life. “We can’t just spread projects across the state to try to make everyone happy,” he said.
Councilmember Rob McKenna presented an overview of the Regional Transportation Improvement District (RTID) draft plan that will go on the ballot next November. He said Referendum 51 suffered from a number of fatal flaws. To avoid repeating those errors, the RTID plan combines new taxes and new projects in one package, giving residents of King, Pierce and Snohomish counties a better understanding of the new taxes they would pay and exactly what road projects would be completed.
The RTID plan would repeal new taxes once projects are completed, and would require a new vote if the cost of a project goes over budget more than 20%. Mr. McKenna said the RTID plan provides accountability by assigning an elected board to assure that new taxes collected from Puget Sound residents are spent in the area. He said passing a transportation package in the next election is vital to our region. If no new capacity is added to the region’s roadways, total trips per day will increase by more than 36% between now and 2020.
In answer to a question from the audience, Senator Horn described the permit streamlining efforts the state is working to implement. Answering another question, Mr. Johnson explained how major projects are bogged down in red tape because of economic and neighborhood concerns. Mr. McKenna said replacing the Alaska Way Viaduct and the 520 floating bridge are higher priorities than using RTID money for light rail. Mr. Freeman, though, expressed cautious skepticism about the chances of the RTID plan being approved by voters.
All the panelists supported adding roadway capacity, but each gave different views about how to create a workable plan. This sold-out forum stirred vigorous debate over gridlock, but its no surprise participants came to no single conclusion about how to solve it. And that only highlights the tough task state leaders face in the months ahead.