Eyman's latest aims at traffic jams; but will it work?
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Taking aim at one of modern life's biggest frustrations, initiative promoter Tim Eyman is offering a measure that he claims will smooth out traffic jams, from those poorly timed small-town stoplights to the sea of cars on our biggest freeways.
Perhaps its most appealing bait: Solo drivers tired of being teased by more efficient travelers would get a shot at the car pool lane.
"Everybody has had that experience," Eyman says. "Middle of the day, bumper to bumper traffic, that empty lane sitting right next to you, and saying, 'I paid for that lane! If it were open to everyone, traffic would flow better."'
If it sounds too good to be true, a truckload of critics says you're right. They paint Eyman's latest as a poorly conceived blueprint that will scramble a strapped state budget, spend the whole state's money on a few urban traffic jams, and actually make some commuters' daily drudgery even worse.
With less than a week until absentee ballots are mailed to voters, the "no" campaign says it's steadily picking apart Eyman's sales pitch.
"The problem with Mr. Eyman is, when he's faced with the questioning on this, there's not much gas in the tank," said former state transportation secretary Doug MacDonald, a spokesman for the opposition.
If approved by voters, I-985 goes into effect in December. It would open up car pool lanes for all traffic, except for the "peak" hours of 6 a.m.-9 a.m. and 3 p.m.-6 p.m. on weekdays.
The initiative also would mandate synchronized traffic lights in cities and counties, and push the state to clear up accidents faster.
To pay for these new programs, I-985 would skim a slice of the state sales tax on vehicles, collect any "profit" from tolls, and grab the traffic ticket money from cameras that nab red-light runners.
Any money left over after fulfilling those goals would go to laying new roads - not buses, trains or any other projects that, in Eyman's estimation, don't help the state's hard-working, traffic-addled drivers.
Eyman pitches I-985 as a follow-up to State Auditor Brian Sonntag's 2007 report on possible solutions for the state's traffic tie-ups - a report issued after a previous Eyman initiative, I-900, created the performance audit program.
That audit made 22 recommendations, but Eyman says the Legislature and state Transportation Department have been too slow to make changes. Passing I-985, he says, "swift-kicks Olympia in the shins" by forcing the politicians into action.
But out of Sonntag's 22 recommendations, I-985 only implements two: coordinating traffic signals and clearing up crashes. Eyman says to avoid his solution, the Legislature should have acted first.
"Hey guys, you had your chance to do it your way. You have no standing to criticize the way we did it," Eyman said, adding that his ultimate goal is to ensure lawmakers pay more attention to future performance audits.
To counter Eyman's message, MacDonald and the opposition have taken up an Eymanesque argument - that his statewide policy for traffic problems will inevitably spend more money on urban areas where traffic is worst, giving rural or suburban folks short shrift.
"People have figured out that giant sucking sound is the sound of money going to Seattle from Eastern Washington," MacDonald said. "That's hardly been an Eyman trademark."
They've also got more nuanced attacks. New restrictions on tolling, for instance, would make it impossible to charge for crossing Lake Washington on both I-90 and State Route 520, which officials say is necessary to sufficiently pay for the 520 bridge replacement.
If I-90 is left toll-free, as I-985 would have it, too many drivers will bypass the 520 toll booths, driving down toll collections that are a major part of the new bridge's financing plan.
And opening up all car pool lanes could be a disaster in places, such as I-5, where car pool lanes are converted shoulders that sometimes fly away from the freeway on separate ramps.
More cars in those lanes will eventually mean more wrecks in hard-to-reach spots, MacDonald says, which won't help anybody reach their destination faster.
Opponents worry, however, that there's not enough room in a crowded election year to make a comprehensive case against I-985. If they can't get enough of their arguments in front of voters, the emotional tug of essentially voting against bad traffic could prevail.
"I know we could catch him if we had enough time," MacDonald says. "The thing is falling apart at the seams every day."
For his part, Eyman already has a victory "Freedom Drive" sketched out.
He plans to pilot a pickup - alone - in the highway car pool lanes during the first free-for-all period after the law takes effect. A sign in the back will read: "Drive in this lane. You paid for it. It's the law."
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Perhaps its most appealing bait: Solo drivers tired of being teased by more efficient travelers would get a shot at the car pool lane.
"Everybody has had that experience," Eyman says. "Middle of the day, bumper to bumper traffic, that empty lane sitting right next to you, and saying, 'I paid for that lane! If it were open to everyone, traffic would flow better."'
If it sounds too good to be true, a truckload of critics says you're right. They paint Eyman's latest as a poorly conceived blueprint that will scramble a strapped state budget, spend the whole state's money on a few urban traffic jams, and actually make some commuters' daily drudgery even worse.
With less than a week until absentee ballots are mailed to voters, the "no" campaign says it's steadily picking apart Eyman's sales pitch.
"The problem with Mr. Eyman is, when he's faced with the questioning on this, there's not much gas in the tank," said former state transportation secretary Doug MacDonald, a spokesman for the opposition.
If approved by voters, I-985 goes into effect in December. It would open up car pool lanes for all traffic, except for the "peak" hours of 6 a.m.-9 a.m. and 3 p.m.-6 p.m. on weekdays.
The initiative also would mandate synchronized traffic lights in cities and counties, and push the state to clear up accidents faster.
To pay for these new programs, I-985 would skim a slice of the state sales tax on vehicles, collect any "profit" from tolls, and grab the traffic ticket money from cameras that nab red-light runners.
Any money left over after fulfilling those goals would go to laying new roads - not buses, trains or any other projects that, in Eyman's estimation, don't help the state's hard-working, traffic-addled drivers.
Eyman pitches I-985 as a follow-up to State Auditor Brian Sonntag's 2007 report on possible solutions for the state's traffic tie-ups - a report issued after a previous Eyman initiative, I-900, created the performance audit program.
That audit made 22 recommendations, but Eyman says the Legislature and state Transportation Department have been too slow to make changes. Passing I-985, he says, "swift-kicks Olympia in the shins" by forcing the politicians into action.
But out of Sonntag's 22 recommendations, I-985 only implements two: coordinating traffic signals and clearing up crashes. Eyman says to avoid his solution, the Legislature should have acted first.
"Hey guys, you had your chance to do it your way. You have no standing to criticize the way we did it," Eyman said, adding that his ultimate goal is to ensure lawmakers pay more attention to future performance audits.
To counter Eyman's message, MacDonald and the opposition have taken up an Eymanesque argument - that his statewide policy for traffic problems will inevitably spend more money on urban areas where traffic is worst, giving rural or suburban folks short shrift.
"People have figured out that giant sucking sound is the sound of money going to Seattle from Eastern Washington," MacDonald said. "That's hardly been an Eyman trademark."
They've also got more nuanced attacks. New restrictions on tolling, for instance, would make it impossible to charge for crossing Lake Washington on both I-90 and State Route 520, which officials say is necessary to sufficiently pay for the 520 bridge replacement.
If I-90 is left toll-free, as I-985 would have it, too many drivers will bypass the 520 toll booths, driving down toll collections that are a major part of the new bridge's financing plan.
And opening up all car pool lanes could be a disaster in places, such as I-5, where car pool lanes are converted shoulders that sometimes fly away from the freeway on separate ramps.
More cars in those lanes will eventually mean more wrecks in hard-to-reach spots, MacDonald says, which won't help anybody reach their destination faster.
Opponents worry, however, that there's not enough room in a crowded election year to make a comprehensive case against I-985. If they can't get enough of their arguments in front of voters, the emotional tug of essentially voting against bad traffic could prevail.
"I know we could catch him if we had enough time," MacDonald says. "The thing is falling apart at the seams every day."
For his part, Eyman already has a victory "Freedom Drive" sketched out.
He plans to pilot a pickup - alone - in the highway car pool lanes during the first free-for-all period after the law takes effect. A sign in the back will read: "Drive in this lane. You paid for it. It's the law."
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