Chamber joins businesses, local governments, education and labor to urge legislative action on a robust statewide transportation package
Chamber President and CEO Maud Daudon joined a coalition of regional leaders this morning to call attention to the economic need for comprehensive, statewide transportation funding (video from KING 5 below). In her remarks, Daudon urged lawmakers to pass a multimodal package this session, stating, “We need to invest in transportation to keep our economy moving. Our goods need to get to the ports, our people need to get to their jobs, and we cannot afford to get any further behind in making these necessary investments – we need action by our legislators in 2013.”
The link between a comprehensive transportation package and our state and region’s economic recovery was a consistent theme throughout this morning’s press conference, which also included statements from King County Executive Dow Constantine, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, Redmond Mayor John Marchione, M.L. King County Labor Council Executive Secretary Treasurer Dave Freiboth, Downtown Seattle Association President and CEO Kate Joncas, King County Councilmember Larry Phillips and University of Washington Director of Transportation Josh Kavanaugh.
A package that offers city and county governments and transit agencies additional funding tools is essential to maintaining roads, bridges and transit service. Cities and King County maintain more than 7,000 miles of roads and bridges, a responsibility that has become more difficult in the face of revenue downturns over the past decade. King County also operates Metro, which delivered transit access to more than 115 million riders last year, a number that is only expected to rise. However, the significant maintenance backlogs local governments face, coupled with limited revenue options for road repairs and transit service, threaten our state’s ability to maintain transportation infrastructure that can support future economic growth.
The Chamber has been a consistent voice throughout the 2013 legislative session for a comprehensive investment in the state’s transportation system. Last month, it spearheaded a coalition letter that encouraged House and Senate Transportation Committee chairs to work on a bipartisan solution to address widespread funding needs, from state highways to county roads and city streets, as well as bridges, ferries, buses, and bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
For more information about the Chamber’s efforts and how you can help, contact Alicia Teel.