Seattle Times Prop 1 Shocker

The Seattle Times had a shocking revelation in today's paper -- interest groups are distorting facts about Proposition 1!!! Tomorrow's hard-hitting investigative piece: Seahawks fans prefer wins over losses, especially during the playoffs.

For me, each side loses credibility when it goes out of its way to demonize their opponents views or attempts to mislead. Some recent examples in Prop 1:

1. I received one of those recorded messages on my answering machine last week from a local mother of two who urged me to vote for Proposition 1 because it would save the environment. She mentioned the light rail, but not the highway expansion, and did not provide any facts, figures or arguments, but asked me to lock arms with one of my own.

2. The Sierra Club sent me an oversized post-card with a picture of a polar bear cavorting with another polar bear friend on a giant sheet of ice and then proceeded to slam the highway expansion while de-emphasizing the public transportation initiatives. I didn't check if the postcard was made using recycled materials or soy-based ink.

What I've tried to answer for myself on Prop 1 is:

1. Do I agree with what Prop 1 is trying to solve for?
2. Do I believe it will work?
3. Is it worth the cost?

I think Proposition 1 is trying to solve for travel in, out and around Seattle.... making it safer, making it faster, making it more efficient. I agree with that goal.

Do I think it will work? I don't. I think more highway lanes encourage more driving and also make places like downtown Seattle that can't expand it's car capacity worse. Chicago has expanded its highway lanes in the last 40 years while population growth is under 5% over that time, and traffic is terrible there. (I grant that is a broad generalization that includes many factors but interesting to note.) Seattle population today is basically flat with what it was in 1960. 1970, 1980 and 1990 actually had less Seattle residents than in 1960, where it eclipsed 1960 with the 2000 census. And the downtown is the same size... so why would we increase car capacity to downtown?

And I don't think it's worth the cost in increased taxes and pollution. I think we should focus on making our roads and bridges safe and making public transportation a realistic and practical choice for consumers.

[where: 98122]