As first reported on Seattle Transit Blog, the state House passed a $4.9 billion two-year transportation budget on Friday that restored funding for moving I-90’s HOV lanes (work necessary to keep the voter-approved East Link light rail project on schedule) and which removed language that would have barred the state Department of Transportation from negotiating air rights with Sound Transit for access to I-90.
This blog has long made the case that Rep. Clibborn has long been opposed to Link crossing I-90, so we hope that this is the first sign of a House that is friendlier toward transit — perhaps due to advocacy pressure. One legislator described our outreach campaign as “a deluge of emails set off by bloggers,” but we think it’s important that transit advocates let the state know how important voter-approved light rail projects are to the region.
It is difficult to accurately gauge the impact of citizen advocacy, but the folks at STB deserve a ton of credit for taking the lead on covering this issue, and pushing awareness amongst both rail supporters and legislators alike. If I were them, I’d quietly put another notch in my belt.
But after talking to a number of reliable sources both in and outside Olympia, I’m not so sure it was Rep. Clibborn’s opposition to Link crossing I-90 that was the real motivation behind the anti-Link nature of the original bill. Clibborn and others, I’m told, weren’t really hoping to scuttle East Link, which is pretty much accepted in Olympia as a done deal. No, this was more of a shakedown… part of a calculated effort to extort a billion dollars or more from Sound Transit for access rights to I-90… money House Speaker Frank Chopp hopes to target to his preferred, but monstrously expensive, “Option K” Montlake tunnel alternative for the Western approach to the new 520 floating bridge.
At least a billion dollars, possibly two, that’s what Chopp has privately told lawmakers and lobbyists he wants for access to I-90 (a bridge, by the way, built 90% with federal dollars), and that’s why, I’m told, he had his lieutenants throw roadblocks into DOT’s negotiations with Sound Transit. That’s potentially enough money to fund all of the controversial Option K tunnel.
Now, as House Speaker, I kinda expect Chopp to play games like this. That’s politics. It’s part of his job description.
But Chopp also represents the voters of Seattle’s 43rd Legislative District… voters who overwhelmingly voted last November to tax themselves to build light rail across Lake Washington, not a highway tunnel under Montlake. We tried to pass a roads and transit measure back in 2007—I aggressively supported it—and it failed. The successful 2008 ballot measure, on the other hand, was explicitly transit only.
The Speaker’s efforts to steal money from East Link to help pay for Option K, may be a clever political maneuver, but it clearly ignores the will of the voters, and threatens the ability of Sound Transit to complete a project that, due to the Great Recession, is already seeing lower than projected tax revenues, and for which ST had never factored in the cost of tunneling under Montlake.
And it’s not at all that clear that this effort is dead, even with passage of a relatively ST-friendly transportation bill.
Speaker Chopp hasn’t payed any attention to his constituents in years. What made you think he would start now?
That Montlake tunnel is ridiculous. It’s way more expensive, and isn’t very environmentally-friendly. And now Chopp’s trying to siphon money from Sound Transit. Chopp tells his fellow legislators and the media that the westside communities are unified behind Option K. That’s totally false. More groups are opposed to the tunnel option than support it. Take a look at the cabal of constituents who Chopp has been serving on this issue: Montlake, Madison Park, Roanoke Park, North Capitol Hill and Laurelhurst… among the wealthiest neighborhoods in Seattle. He was meeting privately with these groups for months, strategizing on how to make this thing happen. Meanwhile he isn’t serving his constituents north of the Montlake cut, areas that will be adversely affected by this option. Scrutiny of this over-priced tunnel sham is long overdue.
520’s option K costs about 2 billion dollars more than the other options.
Argue as one may about the deep bore tunnel option for the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement that stretch of roadway moves over 100,000 vehicles a day. Anybody know how many vehicles use the Montlake exit from 520? I’m sure it’s significantly less.
Speaker Chopp now joins the Kemper Freemans, Dino Rossis, and Tim Eymans of the world in wanting to raid Sound Transit’s accounts for road building.
Given his other sleazy actions against the interests of his constituents I think it is far past time he saw a serious challenge for his seat.
Sure it may be Quixotic and ultimately fail but it might convince him to pay more attention to the voters in his district.
There’s no shortage of people locally who would be in a good position to draw a contrast with Chopp on transportation, labor, and consumer issues.
Here’s the question I keep coming back to: why isn’t Mike McGinn running for Frank Chopp’s seat? Why aren’t Larry Phillips or Dow Constantine running for that seat?
I know they may not actually live in the 43rd LD, but that can be easily fixed. It’s become clear that Olympia is THE obstacle to all the progressive solutions people have proposed for both Seattle and King County. Neither the Seattle mayor nor the King County executive are able to work outside the limitations put on local government by the state government.
Until Washington progressives focus like a laserbeam on the legislature and on removing Chopp in particular, all efforts at change will be for naught.
Chopp isn’t the whole problem in Oly. The faux Democrat Majority Leader is an equally big roadblock to a progressive agenda.
With the Top Two system now being the law, it would be a lot easier to challenge and defeat someone such as Frank Chopp. Unless, of course, the only candidate challenging Chopp is a Republican. That was the case in 2008, and Chopp beat the Republican with almost 87% of the vote.
@5
McGinn would be perfect. As would Carey Moon, as would Peter Steinbruck, or any of the people who ran for Ed Murray’s old seat in 2004.
@6
You mean Lynn Kessler?. Last year at the end of the legislative she commented, “You don’t want to do too much. Otherwise you won’t get re-elected.”
I don’t see how waiting until costs are nailed down for the I-90 conversion (most likely a done deal) are connected in any fashion to 520?
Sure, 520 is an option for light rail, albeit a dark horse at this point. But does that have anything to do with option ‘K’?
Further, I fail to see how the residents north of the Montlake Cut aren’t benefited by this tunnel, taking access to 520 across the congested Montlake Cut.
Building Freeways through neighborhoods have impacts, meeting those have a cost. Sure, at some point it’s not worth it, just like with light rail.
FWIW, I’d bet light rail conversion costs on I-90 are going to be going up, while option ‘K’ costs on 520, down.
Time for Chopp to loose in the next primary.