Overview

Increasingly, a range of innovative finance tools are required to fund road and transit maintenance and improvements in major metropolitan regions. Incremental increases in state or federal gas taxes face considerable political obstacles and even if approved, would not be sufficient to alone meet projected transportation system needs. Likewise, voter support in Puget Sound is highly uncertain for increases in sales taxes, property taxes and motor vehicle excise taxes to fund transportation. As a result, tolling and public-private partnerships are important tools to help funds roads and transit.

"Regional Transportation Commission Final Report," Regional Transportation Commission (of Puget Sound), 12/31/06.

"A Tale Of Three Cities: How San Diego, Denver and Vancouver, B.C. Raised Major Regional Funds For Transportation," Doug Hurley, Cascadia Center For Regional Development, 9/06.

"Transportation Finance At The Ballot Box: Voters Support Increased Investment & Choice," Center For Transportation Excellence, 8/06.

"Remarks Of Pat Jacobsen - CEO, Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority - To House & Senate Transportation Committees of Washington State Legislature, 1/19/06.

Tolling

The need for regional tolling in Puget Sound is becoming clearer as funding gaps are revealed in a range of major infrastructure projects, including replacement of the storm- and earthquake-prone State Route 520/Evergreen Point Floating Bridge which connects Seattle to Eastside cities such as Bellevue and Redmond.

King County Executive Ron Sims has had prepared a report (not yet formally released) calling for the full-time tolling of all major corridors in the region. This report underscores the support for tolling expressed by the governor's regional transportation study commission. The state treasurer has also called for tolling of the key parallel east-west highways in Central Puget Sound - the SR 520/Evergreen Point Floating Bridge and I-90 - to help fully fund the SR 520 bridge rebuild.

In addition, our Cascadia Center has unveiled an initial proposal for coupled tolling and public-private partnerships to fund two key road projects not included on the November 2007 roads and transit ballot measure: reconfiguration of the badly-congested stretch of Interstate 5 through central and north Seattle; and replacement of the crumbling Alaskan Way Viaduct on State Route 99 with an inland deep-bored tunnel.

"Warning Signs For The Fall: A Sneaky Tax," James Vesely, Seattle Times, Sunday Aug. 19, 2007.

"Engineers say tolling 520 doesn't make too much sense without tolling the Interstate 90 bridge, too, but so far, the politicians are not touting the obvious. Some kind of congestion pricing or toll lanes or car transponders are in the future - nearer than we think. Antagonism toward tolls is obvious and vocal, but a federal leash on bridge money gives every officeholder in the state an out, and watch them use it. The always-creative Cascadia Center in Seattle has leaped on the aging problems of Interstate 5 by proposing an entirely different approach to both the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement and a reconfigured I-5. The think tank is touting an inland bypass tunnel to replace the viaduct away from the seawall, and reconfiguring I-5 to connect with an integrated tolling system. Cascadia, which often offers imaginative solutions on paper but lacks the ability to govern, suggests tolling the north-south express lanes on I-5 to Northgate as part of a larger, grander tolling regime for the region.""

"New Grant For Bridge Rebuild Prods Tolling Debate," Bruce Agnew, Cascadia Prospectus, 8/15/07

"Viaduct Bypass, I-5 Expansion Should Be Linked," Bruce Agnew, Cascadia Center For Regional Development, Puget Sound Business Journal, 8/10/07

Highway Tolls Are Inevitable In Metro Puget Sound, Dean Paton, Crosscut, 6/10/07.

"New 520 Bridge May Mean Tolls On I-90, Too, Chris McGann, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 4/9/07.

"Travel Value Pricing: Better Traffic Operations Management & New Revenue For The Puget Sound Region," John S. Niles, 4/06.

"Report On SR 520 Bridge Replacement And HOV Project Funding Alternatives," Seattle-Northwest Securities Corporation, Montague DeRose & Associates, LLC, 3/28/07.

"Destination 2030 - Taking An Alternative Route," Washington State Transportation Center/Booz Allen Hamilton (For King County Executive), 3/05/07

Public-Private Partnerships

"Public-Private Partnerships For Toll Highways," Robert W. Poole, Reason Foundation, Testimony To U.S. House Committee On Transportation & Infrastructure, Subcommittee On Highways & Transit, 2/13/07.

"Public-Private Partnerships & The Development Of Transport Infrastructure: Trends On Both Sides Of The Atlantic," Benjamin G. Perez, PB Consult Inc., James W. March, Federal Highway Administration; 9/06.

"Synthesis Of Public Private Partnership Projects For Roads, Bridges & Tunnels From Around The World - 1985-2004," Aecom Consult, Inc., 2004