City
Survey Says: Majority Want Council to Save Transit
According to a summary of the public feedback the King County Council has received on a proposed temporary vehicle-license fee to help save Metro transit (without the two-year, $20 fee, Metro faces cuts of 17 percent, or about 600,000 hours of service), the overwhelming majority of those who testified at county council meetings or contacted the council by phone or email support the fee, and a strong majority want the council to simply pass the fee themselves, rather than putting it to a public vote.
The number-crunchers at the county combed over nearly 5,000 public comments and emails to the county council on the proposal and found that 73 percent of all commenters supported the $20 fee. Only about five percent of those who testified or commented said they opposed the fee. (The rest who commented spoke in favor of particular bus corridors or routes). Those 5,000 comments are in addition to any emails or comments sent to individual council members and the 10,000 signatures on petitions delivered to the council in July.
Here's how the numbers break down. Of 4,919 comments, 940, or 19 percent, favored the fee with no preference for how it's passed. Another 2,637, or 54 percent, want the council to pass the fee and not put it to a public vote. Eighty-one, or just under two percent, thought the council should put the measure on the ballot. And just over 5 percent opposed the fee. (The rest of the comments pertained to specific routes or other funding mechanisms).
The council has until August 15 to either put the measure on the ballot or pass it themselves; both actions require the support of at least six of the nine council members.
The number-crunchers at the county combed over nearly 5,000 public comments and emails to the county council on the proposal and found that 73 percent of all commenters supported the $20 fee. Only about five percent of those who testified or commented said they opposed the fee. (The rest who commented spoke in favor of particular bus corridors or routes). Those 5,000 comments are in addition to any emails or comments sent to individual council members and the 10,000 signatures on petitions delivered to the council in July.
Here's how the numbers break down. Of 4,919 comments, 940, or 19 percent, favored the fee with no preference for how it's passed. Another 2,637, or 54 percent, want the council to pass the fee and not put it to a public vote. Eighty-one, or just under two percent, thought the council should put the measure on the ballot. And just over 5 percent opposed the fee. (The rest of the comments pertained to specific routes or other funding mechanisms).
The council has until August 15 to either put the measure on the ballot or pass it themselves; both actions require the support of at least six of the nine council members.
