Tim Eyman new Measure to Share Car Pool Lanes
October 12, 2008 by Grant Y
Seattle’s most famous political activist, Tim Eyman, is at it again.
Coming this voting season, Eyman is taking on the issue of highway traffic. He is doing so by introducing Measure I-985, a new initiative that will enable single drivers to use HOV and carpool lanes during non-rush hours. The new measure proposes that car pool lanes will be only restricted to HOV vehicles from 6am-9am and 3pm-6pm on weekdays. Outside of these hours, car pool lanes will be open to all drivers.
According to a quote from Eyman in an interview with the Seattle PI, he says that it doesn’t make sense to sit in traffic, “[m]iddle of the day, bumper to bumper traffic, [with] that empty lane sitting right next to you”. By passing this measure, Eyman believes that it will be a, “quick kick to the shins” for Washington lawmakers, who have been slow to implement suggestions from a 2007 state audit of traffic congestion.
In addition to opening up car pool lanes during non-rush hours, I-985 also requires Seattle, as well as the state, to assign higher priority to traffic accidents as well as synchronizing traffic lights. Eyman’s initiative also slips in a clause that would essentially prevent Washington lawmakers from collecting tolls on the 520 floating point bridge as well as I-90.
In discussions earlier this year, city and state planners had proposed the idea of a toll for 520 and I-90, in efforts to generate funds to pay for the retrofitting or rebuilding of the 520 bridge. Planners envisioned a one-way toll of $3 to $5 for single occupancy vehicles, which has been understandably unpopular with commuters. With a nasty budget shortfall for 2009 and reluctance to raise taxes, the funding for 520 will become an increasing hot topic, especially if Eyman’s new measure gains traction.
Not surprisingly, opposition has already formed to oppose measure I-985. Opponents say that Eyman’s new measure takes funding away from rural Eastern Washington road budgets and pools it into urban centers in Western Washington. Lawmakers have also chimed in about the need to keep toll options on the table.
Personally, living on the Eastside and being a regular commuter on 520 during rush hour, I see a valid point with the car pool point argument — at least as it pertains to 520 (I don’t know the situation with I-5). That said, there is still a good deal of rush hour traffic from 6pm to even 7pm, so it would make sense to extend the exclusion hours on Eyman’s initiative.
That said, it’s hard to support Eyman’s initiative due to the fact that he is disallowing the idea of tolls on 520. Nobody is a fan of tolls, especially at Seattle Auto, but given the upcoming budget shortfall and lower anticipated tax revenues, it’s unreasonable at this point to take the toll option off the table. Olympia will inevitably be cutting programs next year, regardless of who is elected, so thinking that we will have enough coffers to cover the billion dollar rebuilding of 520 is far-fetched.
The only thing that we can be sure of however, if history is any good predictor of the future, is that this isn’t the last we’ll see of Tim Eyman.
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