The proposed Regional Proposition 1 (ST3) is a $54 Billion tax and spend proposal that would have a long lasting and huge negative impact on the finances of the City of Kirkland and our region. ST3 is way out of the realm of reasonableness. It buys trains for Seattle at 12 times the cost of SR 520 bridge replacement project. For perspective, I have compared the City of Kirkland’s current annual budget for transportation to the pro-rated share of East King Subarea’s $9.8 billion that would be paid annually by Kirkland residents.

The City of Kirkland has a robust system for identifying transportation needs in the city. The current budget has about $19 million of transportation programs and projects per year. Most of that is for street improvements and maintenance for the roadways, sidewalks, bike lanes and transit ways.

Eighty five percent of ST3’s capital budget is allocated to construction of light rail. It will do nothing to relieve traffic in Kirkland or anywhere in east King County. The Sound Transit taxing district is divided into five sub-areas, with Kirkland in the East King Subarea, which is projected by Sound Transit to generate $9.8 billion in 25 years. There are 16 cities within the East King Subarea with a total population of 585,000. Based on population, Kirkland will generate about $57 million per year from the City’s residents and businesses toward ST3’s gigantic new and extended taxes. These taxes would compete directly with other serious needs and desires of Kirkland and other King County residents, including the state school funding dilemma.

Traffic congestion is an item often mentioned as a problem in discussions of City issues. Kirkland residents are stuck in traffic, and you know it. Thus, traffic congestion is a top issue in Kirkland and Sound Transit asks you to tax yourselves a huge amount to help Seattle pay for their second Downtown train tunnel to serve Ballard and West Seattle plus light rail extensions to Everett, Tacoma, Redmond and Issaquah. The light rail extensions to those cities are the epitome of foolishness for extending high capacity transit to the lowest density portions of our urban area. PSRC calculates a projected 0.4 percent of the regions’ daily person trips will take light rail in 2040 (PSRC, Transportation 2040, 2014 Update).

ST3 is a bad idea and a bad deal for Kirkland and all of east King County.

Go to www.nost3.org for more information and the tax calculator to estimate your household Sound Transit taxes.

Victor H. Bishop, P.E., Chair-Elect, Eastside Transportation Association