My View – Wayne Snoey

Thoughts about Covington, Regional Issues and Real Estate Trends

  • Comments

A DAY WITH THE LEGISLATURE

February 23rd, 2010 at Tue, 23rd, 2010 at 4:21 pm by Wayne Snoey

I spent most of last Thursday visiting with Members of the State Legislature about transportation issues for South King County.  Besides meeting with our 47th District Legislators (Senator Claudia Kauffman, Rep. Geoff Simpson and Rep. Pat Sullivan), I also met with several other Representatives and Senators from around the State that are on either the House or Senate Transportation Committees.  I also met with many Legislative Assistants, as not all  Legislators were available that day.  The time was interesting, as always, and fairly productive as regards to sharing the financial and policy needs for South King County.  There is actually some money in the Transportation Budget as people are still buying gas and creating gas tax dollars.

Unfortunately, Gas taxes are way down as a result of the Recession and high unemployment.  If there is no job, there is not much of a reason to drive.  With such a shortage of jobs, the need to drive all over to apply for jobs is also way down.  Further, a lot of job seeking can be accomplished via the Internet.  While very good for the environment, less driving is actually bad for transportation because of decreased income.  We are already years behind on necessary projects and, while traffic has dropped a bit, it is still massively congested.

A spot of good news is that currently budgeted projects have come in well under the original estimates.  This is due to the Recession and the fact that starving contractors are coming in as low as they can, likely breaking even in some cases, just to keep their doors open and avoid firing more employees.  This situation is allowing some money to be used for other projects.  This will not last, though.

SE King County has serious issues to contend with as we have very limited ways to get in and out of this area to where the jobs are.  Besides a few back roads, the main routes are limited to Hwy 18, Hwy 516 & Hwy 169.  Hwy 18 needs work from Hobart to I-90.  It also goes the opposite direction that most people in SE King County need to travel to employment centers.  Both Hwy 516 (Kent Kangley) and Hwy 169 (Maple Valley Hwy) are horribly congested.  It is estimated that Hwy 169 will need about $600 Million Dollars to expand it from Maple Valley to Renton.  This is going to be very difficult to find!

On-going with efforts to get funds for expansion of these roads, is a very robust discussion and process to explore enhanced transit and commuter rail options.  I will be reporting much more on these options in the months to come.  Suffice it to say, that it is important to give options other than single occupancy vehicles in the face of declining income for transportation improvements. 

Your Legislators, from our local cities to the Federal level are all trying to get the most “Bang for the Buck” to meet the growing population needs of our area.  Watch for your opportunity to take part in local and regional public meetings to learn more and give your opinion.  Please, please , please take the opportunity to learn first and talk second.  Abusive and demeaning tactics are not constructive during public meetings and, if anything is needed now, it is community collaboration to solve the problem.  There is no free lunch and there is no pot of gold lying somewhere that will magically solve the problem.  Please help!

I am a strong believer in public service. By giving back to our community, we can make life better for our children and grandchildren. Besides being a full-time Real Estate Managing Broker at Coldwell Banker Bain, I serve as a Council Member on the Covington City Council. Current or past Regional appointments include: Chair of the South County Area Transportation Board, Puget Sound Regional Council Executive Board and the King County Flood Control District Advisory Board. I continue to serve as Chair of the SE King County Commuter Rail and Transit Centers Group. I work extensively on transportation solution for the region with a focus on public transportation and freight mobility. I have served and assisted numerous non-profits involving children and domestic violence including legislative efforts.

More articles by  >
ABOUT COMMUNITY BLOGS: Community blogs are written by volunteers. They are members of our community but not employees of this site or newspaper. They have applied or were invited to blog here but their words are their own and are not edited by the editor or staff of this site, and have agreed to abide by our Terms of Use. The authors are solely responsible for their content. If you have concerns about something you read on a community blog, please contact the author directly or email us.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in the PNWLocalNews.com community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read.

So keep your comments:

  • Civil
  • Smart
  • On-topic
  • Free of profanity

We ask that all participants own their words by logging in with their Facebook account. It's a simple process that will take seconds and helps keep our comments free of trolls, cranks, and “drive-by” commenters. We reserve the right to remove comments from anyone using screen names, pseudonyms or false identities. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.