Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

Leaked: Washington State’s $12 Billion Highway Spending Plan

Surprise! Transit advocates in Seattle recently found out that Washington state lawmakers have been formulating an enormous $12 billion highway spending package in secret.

false

But someone leaked the documents to Ben Schiendelman at Seattle Transit Blog. He says there's a good reason legislators tried to keep this proposal under wraps. It's the same type of expensive, cars-only policy that Washington residents have already rejected:

Even worse than the last package we saw, it reduces bike/ped funding further, and adds new highway projects, including a massive JBLM interchange that likely includes widening I-5, and dozens of other highway expansions. This package includes funding for the west end of 520 – partly a positive, but it completely funds the project, making tolling I-90 unnecessary. Avoiding tolling on highways is a poor choice for both congestion and sprawl. This package would cause significant increases in CO2, congestion, and sprawl, and offer a bare minimum of transit options. In the long run, driving sprawl like this also dramatically increases the cost to provide transit options.

If the legislature were funding Sound Transit 3 along with this, it might be a different story, but they are not. This is much, much worse than the Roads and Transit package local voters soundly trounced in 2007. It’s our job to urge our legislators to vote against it.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Twin City Sidewalks responds to Daniel Duane's "Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?" piece in the New York Times by noting that cyclists shouldn't blame themselves for motorist aggression. 1000 Friends of Wisconsin crunches the numbers and finds that 8.5 percent of the land in Madison is devoted to off-street car parking. And Urban Indy notices some small amenities that can make a big difference for quality of life in urban places.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Talking Headways Podcast: The Annual Yonah Freemark Show, Part II

Yonah Freemark of the Urban Institute is back again for Part II of his annual "Talking Headways" discussion.

March 13, 2025

What if the ‘Tesla Takedown’ Is Only the Beginning?

Tesla's cars have become symbols of Elon Musk's controversial role in U.S. politics — but they're also instruments of a violent system that long predates his time in the White House.

March 13, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Are Hard-Driving

To paraphrase Billy Idol: Get out of my car, get into my dreams. Wired shows us examples of cities cutting down on driving that most of us can only fantasize about.

March 13, 2025

How Climate Change Is Hurting Transit Ridership

Transit isn't only a key solution to confronting climate change; it's also one of its victims.

March 12, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines Are About Elon-ed Out

While President Trump tries to pump up Tesla stock prices, Elon Musk wants to privatize Amtrak.

March 12, 2025
See all posts