By Sara Kiesler, Guest Contributor
It’s no secret that emissions from cars stuck in traffic are the biggest contribution to climate change in Washington state. To protect our health, our safety, and our environment, we need more clean transportation options to get people out of their cars and into transit, on bicycles, or on their feet.
This November, the Sierra Club strongly urges a no vote on anti-tax crusader Tim Eyman’s Initiative 976. I-976 would devastate our strained transportation system and cut funding that would otherwise go to expand light rail, maintain ferries, fix our roads and bridges, and fund local transit options.
Without the continued investment in increased transit options, communities of color that are most impacted by pollution will suffer from the growing pollution generated on our roads. Not only that, but I-976 specifically targets funds that serve vulnerable transit users such as seniors, veterans, children, and people with physical differences.
Additionally, businesses that rely on transit to get their workers to their jobs on time will also feel the strain of cuts to voter-approved local transit and light rail expansion. Our economy already loses thousands of dollars each year as more people sit stuck in traffic. We need safe, reliable transit options that keep our state moving and help families get to work, go to the doctor, and get home on time for dinner.
Just the facts:
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I-976 hurts projects from Spokane to Seattle, Bellingham to Vancouver, and everywhere in between, including 63 smaller cities such as Mercer Island, Wenatchee, Everett, Zillah, and more.
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If passed, I-976 cuts state funding for projects like voter-approved local transit and light rail expansion, highway safety projects such as retrofitting bridges and funding for the State Patrol, ferry improvements, Amtrak improvements, freight mobility improvements, and more.
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More than $12 billion worth of projects across the state will be at risk if I-976 passes, including more than $7 billion of voter-approved Sound Transit projects.
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A broad coalition has formed to oppose Tim Eyman’s I-976, including the Sierra Club, 350 Seattle, Transportation Choices, the Transit Riders Union, and more.
This message is paid for by the Sierra Club