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The
Herald
Published: Thursday,
August 25, 2005
'Reality
Needs To Take Over'
State
Sen. Dave Schmidt, R-Bothell, defends the Legislature's
transportation package and its relevance to Snohomish County.
Amy Rolph, Herald Writer
Claims
that Snohomish County was left out of the Legislature's 2005
transportation package are wrong, Sen. Dave Schmidt, R
-Bothell, told area business people on Wednesday.
Schmidt
was among several lawmakers and agency heads who appealed to
members of the Everett Area Chamber of Commerce to
"understand the reality" and support the 9.5 cent
gas tax that is the key source of funding for the package.
Initiative
912, scheduled to appear on the ballot in November, would
rescind the tax.
"Sometimes
reality needs to take over," Schmidt said.
During
a panel discussion, he refuted claims that the transportation
package focused too heavily on the Seattle area. He said the
reason the package seems centered on King County is because
television and radio news caters to that population base and
tends to report on projects such as rebuilding the Alaskan Way
Viaduct.
A
Snohomish County project includes $123 million designated to
improve Highway 9 from Woodinville to Arlington, which Schmidt
said he lobbied for.
He
said he supported the gas tax increase because without it
Highway 9 congestion might not be addressed for another 10
years or more.
"The
reality is, if we don't start doing something to fix the
problems for all of us in the Puget Sound region, our children
are seriously going to pay down the road," Schmidt said.
Dave
Earling of the Cascadia Center for Transportation and Regional
Development moderated the meeting, and said Snohomish County
sorely needs the funding the gas tax would provide.
"We
need to think about how Snohomish County is the
fastest-growing county in the state," he said.
Of
the $8.5 billion plan, $486 million was earmarked for projects
in Snohomish and Island counties. Improvements include the
replacement of the Ebey Slough Bridge on Highway 529, widening
of Highway 9 from Maltby to Snohomish, and the addition of new
offramps on I-5 at Highway 532 and 41st Street in Everett.
Unless
halted by the passage of I-912, the gas tax will increase
annually until 2008, when the full 9.5 cents per gallon raise
takes effect. The first of the four incremental gas tax
increases took place on July 1 with a 3-cent raise.
Those
who want to cancel the increases have questioned the
accountability of the government agencies responsible for the
improvements.
Lorena
Eng, an administrator for the Department of Transportation,
told those at the chamber meeting that accountability would be
high. "We're going to deliver these projects for
you," she said.
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