I-985: Far-reaching, unforgiving
Published 12:53 pm Thursday, October 23, 2008
Initiative 985, sponsored by Tim Eyman, suggests that a mixture of actions will do the trick to reduce urban congestion.
These actions include opening all High Occupancy Vehicle lanes (HOV) to all vehicles except during the peak period between 6-9 a.m. and 3-6 p.m. and requiring cities to synchronize their traffic signals.
A new congestion relief fund is proposed that would direct fees cities collect from red-light running cameras.
Sounds simple, harmless, almost benig … after all, synchronizing traffic signals is not a new idea, and outside congested peak periods HOV lanes seem free-flowing.
Then why are the Seattle Times, Seattle Post Intelligencer, Tacoma News Tribune and Spokesman Review and Yakima Herald editorial boards, and the Institute of Transportation Engineers opposed to the initiative?
The initiative is far reaching, unforgiving and broadly applied.
While the initiative strictly defines the peak periods as 6-9 a.m. and 3-6 p.m., data evaluated by the Puget Sound Regional Council indicates peak hours often extend outside these time periods on I-405 and SR 520.
As described in the initiative, the HOV lanes that could be open to all traffic include transit-only lanes like those on SR 99, SR 522, possibly the bus tunnel and direct access ramps.
Direct access HOV ramps – those connecting park-and-ride lots and transit facilities to freeway HOV lanes like Northeast 6th Street in Bellevue – would also be subject to this initiative. Because these facilities were not intended, nor designed for higher volume traffic they may be further restricted or closed because leaving them open could increase the potential for accidents.
The initiative will increase congestion on SR 520. Most notably, SR 520 which connects two of the regions major transit supportive employers (University of Washington and Microsoft) would end up having much worse congestion as a result of the initiative.
Recent WSDOT analysis indicates that the westbound HOV lane near the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, currently a 3-plus HOV lane, would have back-ups extending through I-405 merely with the conversion of the lanes from 3-plus to 2-plus during the peak hours.
When this lane, a narrow roadway with limited shoulders, was opened to all traffic after 6 p.m. the back-ups would continue to extend through I-405 with congestion not dissipating every night until 9 p.m.
Transit travel times will be impacted encouraging driving alone. The HOV system on freeways like I-405, coupled with direct access ramps, creates a transit travel way, which when all tolled saves substantial travel time for transit patrons. Transit users with flexible hours traveling outside the prescribed peak periods would lose much of this time savings potentially discouraging transit use. Employers like Microsoft may see the gains they have made in increasing transit use diminish and congestion increase.
The initiative may rescind red-light-running camera use. Red-light-running cameras have been hailed as a way to reduce high injury and costly accidents resulting from motorists running red lights. The initiative diverts fees collected by cities from red light running cameras to a statewide congestion fund. This punishes entrepreneurial agencies that have implemented the cameras by taking away the revenue source that funds the installation, maintenance and management of these cameras. In some cases cities may choose not to install the cameras or remove them if new funding sources can not be found to support the red-light-running camera program.
Signal synchronization in urban cities already occurs but requiring it includes audits and creates unneeded and expensive bureaucracy. Synchronizing traffic signals already occurs including coordination between local agencies as part of a Puget Sound Regional Council committee. The initiative adds regulation related to how signals would be synchronized reducing local control.
The legacy of initiatives is that they are remembered by numbers: $30 car tabs, 21-student classroom caps and 6-9 a.m. and 3-6 p.m. HOV lane operations.
Initiative 985 adds inflexible bureaucracy and regulation while increasing congestion. The initiative possibly impacts safety while discouraging transit use. Its unintended consequences make it a mistake we can not afford. Vote no on Initiative 985.
