November 05, 2007
Mrs. Gregoire plans for the defeat of "Roads and Transit"
If voters reject "Roads and Transit", Mrs. Gregoire promises to come back with another helping of "Roads and Transit", or something.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at November 05, 2007
07:28 PM | Email This
1. I have to really question the notion that voters only want a transportation measure that includes transit. Going back to what I was told by a paid pollster who called me last summer, she said that everyone she polled absolutely HATED that they were forced to vote for one to get the other. That is certainly what I expressed disdain about re the measure.
Sound Transit already HAS its own dedicated funding source and certainly did not in the beginning claim that it would later come back and ask for tons more. A big NO to this turkey.
2. Torpedo that "prop one" sucka.
3. At the risk of offending government employees, a real solution to the peaking problem, aka rush hours, would be to allow government employees to start work at 10 and go home at 3. They would accomplish about the same, and the roads would be that much clearer for those of us with...how can I say this gently..."other types" of jobs.
The only down side would be reduction or loss of service.
Right.
4. There would be no loss of service, even if they worked 4 hrs a day.
5. roads & transit, YES!!
BUT ONLY IF...funded by the tax-exempt/favored/subsidized casinos; want more gamblers overall? then fix roads for ALL of us; "build them & they'll come" (2 birds with 1 [sacred] stone)
6. One thing these Progressives are is determined. They've been trying to railroad this nation into Marxism for the last 100 years. And no matter how many times they get batted down, they always pop up again with another collectivist scheme for wealth redistribution and lots of showy and emotion filled projects like light rail, that are completely ineffective.
7. Another thing that would greatly reduce congestion would be to have the port of seattle work 24hrs. That would allow truck traffic to shift to non-peak hours.
8. But Vince then they will charge a "Peak" toll 24/7 so they can get more money off of the truck traffic! Plus those Condo dwellers would just complain about a 24 hr operation and Mayor would shut them down, just like the clubs in Belltown.
9. Vince & Smokie,
....and the unions that control the port would have to re-negotiate contracts due to the shift changes, effectively doubling the cost of port operations. But I'm certain those longshoremen earn every penny of their $150K per year salaries....
10. Just for the record, I have no problem with a working guy/gal making $150,000 a year. Now lobbyist and political hacks... not so much. Hey just for giggles on transit read the link to the oregonian article on the max line over at crosscut. It seems another gang beating of a 71 year old man with a baseball bat on the Max line has raised "concerns", but the progressive people of Portland don't want security cameras. The Police are going to "double" thier patrols and start riding the max. I wonder if this is budgeted in the new ST package? 100% police ridership could really boost the rider numbers!
11.
I had my suspicions about Plan B when Super Toad and Lib Rom Sims suddenly disavowed Prop 1.
I thought -- ok, this is the old "if you want a kitten, ask for a pony" trick.
But the voters are still going to be asked to pay for a kitten...a very expensive Persian pure bred...
12. Gregoire has positioned herself as the queen bee. If it passes she gets kudos and if it fails, she has the solution for a horrible proposition.
Except, there is Rossi, to do the double thump-thump body slam to point out the discrepancies.
13. You might have a problem with how they make that $150,000, Smokie. Union "strongarming" forces the port to use redundant pen-and-clipboard container tracking methodology, while massive overtime "protects" workers from new hires. Unions are also famous for defending the lazy and incompetent.
14. Read this column about smart planning and light rail:
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/BillSteigerwald/2007/11/06/meet_the_anti-planner?page=2
15. You are overlooking one thing if the money dont pass the legislators will pass the bill after fractionating it, We have a new finnancial back door that is being used regulary its called Emergency spending bills, they pass it without any public input and little media exposure
16. I, for one, will NEVER VOTE FOR A TRANSPORTATION "PACKAGE" that includes a single dime for Transit, bicycle lanes, or any other such nonsense.
If you want to split out the "Package" and give us an honest up/down vote on roads, bridges, the viaduct, etc., WITHOUT holding the whole damn thing hostage to the transit crowd, I'll be glad to vote for some of the items on an ala carte basis.
As for Transit....fund it with user fees, not taxes, just like we are doing with the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge. If Transit riders want it that bad, they ought to be willing to pay the price for it.
Similarly ,bicycle lanes...if bicycle commuters need more lanes, CHARGE AN ANNUAL FEE FOR A BICYCLE LICENSE AND USE ONLY THAT TO FUND BIKE LANES. These people are parasites on the rest of us that fund the transportation system.
And while we are on the subject...that goes double for ferries. The Port Townsend people are pushing for ferries to replace the ancient unseaworthy grandfathered out of the last half-century of safety features boats that ply the PT to Whidbey run. This run has less than a million passenger trips a year, and the very thought of spending a quarter billion in capital on this run is ridiculous. They want it... They ought to pay for it. Current interest rate is about 4%... That's $10 million dollars a year interest expense alone. If the boats have a hundred year lifetime the capital costs would be a mere $12.5 million annually. Then there's about 90 personnel (seven crew per boat per shift plus coverage for weekends, vacations, etc.)...basically seventy crew and 20 people manning the docks....at $50 grand each....Hell, that's $17 million befoe you even count fuel or maintenance....The fare is going to need to be about $35 per person per crossing.
If mass transit advocates want their toys, THEY can pay for it.