Key Findings

1. Since 2015, WSDOT has spent at least $234.9 million of exclusively 18th amendment protected Connecting Washington funds on project elements for transit, bike and pedestrian use.

2. In many places, it makes sense and is important to consider all transportation modes in the construction or improvement of road infrastructure, including the ability of bicyclists and pedestrians to cross bridges safely.

3. However, five million state drivers cannot be expected to pay for these improvements for modes that do not support themselves or contribute their fair share to pay for such infrastructure.

4. State taxpayers pay about $3.3 billion per year for transportation. A portion of that revenue is protected under the 18th amendment for functional and safe roads and bridges, which serve the vast majority of the traveling public.

5. Rather than stretching the law to be able to use 18th amendment funds on non-highway projects, WSDOT should work with lawmakers to find appropriate user fees to ensure roads are not short-changed.

Introduction

In the 2015 Connecting Washington transportation package, lawmakers included a provision that requires the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to “report annually on the amounts expended to benefit transit, bicycle, or pedestrian elements within Connecting Washington projects.”

Though transit, bike and pedestrian projects are funded largely by driver fees deposited into the state’s multimodal account, the legislature wanted to know what the cost was to implement any multimodal elements as a part of larger road infrastructure projects – spending that might otherwise be overlooked.

Click here to read the full Legislative Memo.