Yesterday the P-I told us it was important to for the State to find a Transportation Department head from out-of-state.
Washington needs a transportation department that puts mass transit, the environment and the public interest ahead of building more car capacity…
With you on that one, PI! They also stressed the important of bringing in a Gregoire crony, a la George Bush, to run the department.
Transportation still needs the benefit of an outsider, who will continue to shake things up. Particularly with a strong governor, it would be too easy for an insider to tell her all is fine.
Today the PI tells us how much they like the idea of a mosquito fleet of passenger-only ferries, and how better to sell the fleet to tax-payers.
King County Council’s plan to take over the Vashon foot-passenger ferries and downtown water taxi … sorry, can’t resist … floats our boat…
As far as funding goes, we’re not against some funds coming from property taxes — after all, everyone in the region, even those who don’t use ferries and water taxis, will benefit from living in a place with good public transportation. We do believe, however, that relying solely on property taxes for funding the ferries and future water taxis is folly.