I have a 4-year-old son and a 2-year-old daughter. The transportation system in the metro-Seattle area that they have when they are grown will depend on a vote in the next month.
This November, voters in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties have the opportunity to reduce traffic and improve our quality of life by voting yes on Proposition 1 - the Roads & Transit plan. The plan will help us right here in North Seattle.
Roads & Transit will bring light rail to Northgate. This line will allow us to have a quick, reliable and easy way to get to University of Washington or downtown and even the airport and avoid traffic along the way. Access to the light-rail line will no doubt help alleviate many of the traffic issues that we face each morning.
Roads & Transit presents us with an historic opportunity to continue building momentum for mass transit with 50 miles of light rail. Fast, safe, reliable transit will transform the way our region grows, a critical step towards a cleaner environment.
Additionally, the Roads & Transit plan represents the largest investment in bike lanes at any one time in the last 20 years. Many of the improvements included in the plan make it easier and safer for people to walk and ride bikes to work and school.
A key step in improving congestion issues in our region is to provide people with safe alternatives to driving, and this package does just that.
The bike lanes and light rail are only part of the reason why I'm voting for this package. The plan also redefines how we invest in our highways by giving people transportation choices to leave their cars at home.
And, by focusing on HOV lanes, safety and infrastructure, the roads' side of the package serves as a good starting point to addressing some serious traffic issues in our region.
I'm looking forward to riding light rail, and I hope that my neighbors will join me in voting YES for this plan in November so that we can have easy access to the regional light-rail system.
Tom Geiger
Maple Leaf
(Editor's note: Tom Geiger works for the Washington Environmental Council.)
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