After a months-long process of hard work and perseverance by a diverse group of transportation stakeholders, the House of Representative\u2019s transportation package proposal was defeated today on a vote of 48-42. The bill received a majority vote but did not reach the constitutionally required number of votes for passage.<\/p>\n
We remain hopeful that the House will remove for reconsideration. We want to thank Governor Inslee and Representatives Marko Liias, Jessyn Farrell, Joe Fitzgibbon, and Cyrus Habib in particular for their leadership in developing a package that would invest in a transportation system that meets the growing needs of our cities, towns, and most importantly safety for Washington\u2019s kids. We also appreciate that Rep. Clibborn was willing to work with them to make the improvements that were needed to plan for our transportation future.<\/p>\n
The proposed package took important steps in recognizing that investments in walking and biking provide cost-effective and common sense solutions to congestion, improving safety for people who drive, walk, bike, and take transit.<\/p>\n
I have to point out that at $323 million for biking and walking projects in the proposed package, the state of Washington would have invested $3.90 per Washingtonian per year on bike\/walk infrastructure<\/strong> for safer streets and greater connectivity\u2014less than a typical 16-ounce drink at Starbucks and right around the cost of one gallon of gas.<\/p>\n Bicycling is here to stay. We call on the state legislature to craft a transportation package that looks forward\u2014not one that keeps us looking in the rearview mirror. Investments in biking and walking infrastructure make streets safer for drivers too, while providing a healthy workforce and children who are ready to concentrate and learn when they get to school. Everyone benefits.<\/strong><\/p>\n Employers like Amazon.com and commercial real estate developers are now investing in bicycling because workers demand it. Recently I was astonished to hear someone say that Microsoft had around 10,000 bike commuters working for them. As I heard on a trip to meet with Pullman in April, Washington State University hears from its incoming freshmen that they want bike racks, not parking spots, and use of their bikeshare system has more than tripled since it was introduced in 2011. Chambers of commerce and destination marketing organizations across the state are working to develop bicycle tourism \u2013 in Oregon a $400 million-a-year industry according to a recently released Travel Oregon study. Bike projects also have been demonstrated to create more jobs per dollar spent than large road-building projects because they require less material for the labor expended.<\/p>\n Among the many priority projects included in the proposed package:<\/p>\n If this ultimately doesn\u2019t pass, every community in the state will lose out on the chance to make their streets more inviting, increase their real estate values and thus their local government revenues, make their school zones safer, and support the local businesses that benefit from increased commercial activity when people can walk or bike in a welcoming environment. That\u2019s the real bottom line for the taxpayers.<\/p>\n\n