This post originally appeared on Orphan Road.
Will @ HA argues persuasively:
Don’t forget that even if Prop 1 goes down this fall, roads will still get built. Why? Gov. Gregoire won’t allow 520 to plunge into Lake Washington. Expansion of the south portion of 405 is popular on the Eastside (and already partially funded), and with traffic congestion statistics showing this stretch of road to be the most congested in the state, it will be an easy call for legislators. Roads spending, unlike light rail, has sometimes be[en] handled by the legislature without a vote of the people. Initiative 912 notwithstanding, two gas tax increases came out of Olympia without public votes. This could very well happen again, but this time to fund the projects that RTID funds.
Indeed. 520 and 405 constitute about half of King County’s share of RTID funding, nearly $2B. A “no” vote in November is a “no for light rail.” The roads stuff will come back, the legislature will make sure of that. They’ll just find a different way to pay for it.
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