Every couple of years we post about proposed cuts to Metro bus service and how those cuts will impact Wallingford. The last round of proposed cuts had the ever popular Route 26 slated for shuttering, which resulted in numerous vocal transit riders (my family included) barraging beleaguered Metro staff people at their “open house” sessions at QFC. Thankfully Route 26 was saved from the chopping block. Lower Wallingford in particular breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Knowing that this time of year is when the folks at Metro usually start talking about budget cuts and major service reductions, I have been mentally preparing to haul myself off to a community meeting in favor of transit preservation. But this year’s community meeting is even better because King County Executive Dow Constantine has proposed a *gasp* permanent fix for Metro. Not surprisingly, the proposed solution involves raising taxes and bus fares to pay for both buses and roads, but it puts the control for funding, as well as the means of funding, on those of us who live in King County. Meaning that we no longer will be subject to the whims of the statewide legislature and the resultant years of waiting for a (nonexistent) transit package.
As it stands now, the temporary transit package that the legislature approved in 2011 is expiring and the promised permanent transit package has yet to materialize. Metro estimates that it will experience a $75 million budget shortfall beginning mid-2014 and will need to cancel 74 bus routes as well as reduce 107 additional routes in order to offset this deficit. Bye-bye, Route 26.
The creation of the King County Transportation Benefit District is the first step to assuming more local control over transit. Following its creation, there would be an April ballot measure seeking voter approval for taxes to subsidize roads and buses.
If you ride the bus and want Metro service to continue to be a viable option for you (and all King County residents), you can speak up in support of the Transportation Benefit District at the public meeting on Tuesday, February 4th from 6 – 8 pm at Union Station. Details may be found here. Save bus service now!
And the state with the most regressive taxation policies in the country will attempt to add two more regressive taxes to its coffers. Thank you Tim Eyman and conservative mid- and eastern-Washington state voters. It’s ironic that King County subsidizes so many of you.
Oops, is it my fault that everything is bold?