Glass vs. concrete in November

Like a beautiful but fragile Chihuly vase spinning toward a concrete Jersey barrier, the region's transportation package has to be caught before it becomes a million pieces.

Last week's pragmatic and stern rejection of the multibillion-dollar November tax package for roads by Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg was more than a warning, it was a foretelling of more questions to come. The Pierce County Democrat is known in King County as a politician of feisty integrity. A lawyer and former litigator, Ladenburg has never hesitated to speak his mind. In an e-mail message that zoomed around the region late last week, boy, did he ever.

Ladenburg is a proponent of the Cross-Base Highway, which would pass roughly between Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base to link the populous part of Pierce County to the expanding population centers on the other side of the federal acreage.

He is opposed by environmentalists and some military retirees who do not want to see the base and post boundaries breached, those familiar with the negotiations say. Ladenburg is clearly angry and feels blindsided by a last-minute deal.

Information

The Brookings Institution: "Finding Exurbia: America's Fast-Growing Communities at the Metropolitan Fringe" www.brookings.edu/metro

"I am sorry to hear that the committee has decided to force onto Pierce County this last-minute change to the RTID [regional transportation package] that was hatched in the back room without public comment," his message begins. "... I hope that when all the county councils meet together, you will realize that this is a disaster."

The county exec then pledges to actively work against the November vote if the Pierce County highway is not restored. "I will veto the package you are sending. If it makes the ballot I will actively raise money and campaign against it in the region as I have been committed for six years to proper land-use planning, saving open space and preserving our farmland. This runs counter to all of these."

Ladenburg's promised veto suggests one county could opt out of at least a portion of a tax. That's a remedy being considered by King County Councilwoman Julia Patterson, who spoke Friday about the Ladenburg Torpedo, as we will call it.

"I'm still highly optimistic we can move forward," she said. "Maybe Pierce County residents will only vote for transit and not roads, just as in north Snohomish County, voters may opt to decide on roads and not transit.

"But when we get environmental groups such as FutureWise coming together with Boeing to support the package, and many Democrats, Republicans, Seattle and suburban leaders, we can't just stop it all because of one road in Pierce County."

Clearly, the Ladenburg Torpedo gives further boost to the anti-November-tax-hike forces. Clearly, the glass vase was chipped last week.

Yet, Ladenburg is not alone in thinking about the future exurbs in the modern metropolis. In the Brookings Institution's Living Cities series, a recent study on exurbia, places Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue about halfway up the list of lowest to highest percentage of residents living in the exurbs.

Our region ranked 43 out of 88 metro areas where the growth of exurbia is becoming significant. Brookings reports our population base at slightly more than 3 million people, with a total exurban population on the fringes of the region at 7 percent, or 211,000 residents. Those are 2000 census figures, meaning the populations have grown by now.

Ladenburg is right about one thing: The region's exurbs have to be understood and considered. He's far from a mad developer or pure highway guy. He's bucking his colleagues and asking who will catch the vase.

James F. Vesely's column appears Sunday on editorial pages of The Times. His e-mail address is: jvesely@seattletimes.com