City
King County DOT on Tunnel Project: Transit Funding "Not There."
The pro-tunnel side of the Referendum 1 debate has been saying the tunnel project comes with transit funding. To quote a flyer they were handing out at last night's Sounders game: "Seattle gets millions for transit."
Tunnel advocates have talked about $190 million in capital money for new buses, about a 25 percent increase in capacity, and $15 million for operating expenses.[pullquote]Ron Posthuma at the King County Department of Transportation says: "By and large [the funding is] not there. That part is not moving forward in full."[/pullquote]
But I just talked to Ron Posthuma at the King County Department of Transportation. He says: "By and large [the funding is] not there. That part is not moving forward in full."
Posthuma tells PubliCola the $190 million and $15 million were originally part of the plan back in January 2009, but that money had depended on the state giving King County motor vehicle excise tax authority, which they did not.
The only money that's on the table, Posthuma says, is $31 million from the state to fund transit mitigation while Holgate-to-King St. construction is going on. But, he added, "that's not really part of the tunnel project."
Posthuma did say Metro—not the state—is spending $9 million on bus rapid transit service in the 99 corridor—to West Seattle, Ballard, and Shoreline. And says that money won't go away even if King County's pending $20 car tab for bus service fails.
Alex Fryer, spokesman for Let's Move Forward, the pro-tunnel campaign, says: "We're working toward that commitment. It wasn't supposed to come on line until 2013, and no one has officially backed down or negated that commitment."
He admits that getting the money will take "shoe leather lobbying in Olympia."
"Metro is in a funding hole," he acknowledges, "and we need to work hard to achieve that because that was part of the orignal package."
Tunnel advocates have talked about $190 million in capital money for new buses, about a 25 percent increase in capacity, and $15 million for operating expenses.[pullquote]Ron Posthuma at the King County Department of Transportation says: "By and large [the funding is] not there. That part is not moving forward in full."[/pullquote]
But I just talked to Ron Posthuma at the King County Department of Transportation. He says: "By and large [the funding is] not there. That part is not moving forward in full."
Posthuma tells PubliCola the $190 million and $15 million were originally part of the plan back in January 2009, but that money had depended on the state giving King County motor vehicle excise tax authority, which they did not.
The only money that's on the table, Posthuma says, is $31 million from the state to fund transit mitigation while Holgate-to-King St. construction is going on. But, he added, "that's not really part of the tunnel project."
Posthuma did say Metro—not the state—is spending $9 million on bus rapid transit service in the 99 corridor—to West Seattle, Ballard, and Shoreline. And says that money won't go away even if King County's pending $20 car tab for bus service fails.
Alex Fryer, spokesman for Let's Move Forward, the pro-tunnel campaign, says: "We're working toward that commitment. It wasn't supposed to come on line until 2013, and no one has officially backed down or negated that commitment."
He admits that getting the money will take "shoe leather lobbying in Olympia."
"Metro is in a funding hole," he acknowledges, "and we need to work hard to achieve that because that was part of the orignal package."
