As you may have heard, House Transportation Chair Rep. Judy Clibborn has released a transportation package for consideration in 2013 Legislative Session. This $10 Billion package seeks to raise new revenue to pay for road projects, maintenance and operations, transit, bicycle and pedestrian, ferries and freight projects.
We are appreciative that Chair Clibborn has begun this important conversation around transportation issues and the urgent need to fix our broken roads and bridges, save transit service, and make it safer for people to bike and walk.
The Transportation for Washington campaign has focused on three main principles:
- Fix our crumbling roads and bridges first before investing in new road capacity. We must ensure that our new investments will create jobs, spur economic growth, and improve the safety and health of our communities.
- Preserve and expand transit service, and
- Build healthy, safe, and affordable communities.
Last week, we sent a letter to Chair Clibborn that emphasized these principles and called on her to do the following:
- Increase the size of the overall package to more accurately reflect the tremendous state, regional and local needs.
- Improve the balance of the package funding to better reflect want Washingtonians want including more transit, walking, biking and healthy communities.
- Provide local communities with the ability to raise additional revenue to fund transit and local street improvements.
- Increase the diversity of revenue sources that fund transit, local governments, and ferries so that they are at less risk of repeal.
We believe that this package is a first step and that there is much work to be done to make this a balanced transportation plan that gives Washingtonians equal opportunity to get where they need to go. And you can help by telling the House Transportation Committee to make this package better. Take action now!
Washington only works when everyone has the equal opportunity to get to where they need to go. Together, we can create this equal opportunity by investing in a balanced approach that spurs our economy, protects our environment, and creates a future where all can thrive.
