Transportation leadership lacking

The public wants transportation solutions, with the number-one priority being congestion relief. Many also want effective, affordable transit. Yet our transportation leaders do not believe or support this.

Are our leaders deaf? Do they not hear what the people want? Or do they just not care? I find it ironic that Gov. Christine Gregoire is being hailed as a great leader for ordering an emergency replacement for ferries that were condemned years ago. The U.S. Coast Guard had to declare the boats permanently unsafe before the governor would finally take action.

In 2003, the Republican budget authorized $285 million to replace the oldest Steel Electric ferries. At first, the Department of Transportation wanted boats so large it needed new docks. Ultimately, nothing was done and no one was ever held accountable.

The governor's current plan to replace the ferries will actually cause more problems than it solves. The $20 million ferries are too small. They will not handle the rough waters on the stormy Keystone-Port Townsend route. Service will be shut down much more often because of high winds than if the boats that the Legislature funded in 2003 had been bought.

A proverb says, "For lack of vision, the people perish." Given the safety concerns of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, ferries, the 520 floating bridge and flood-ravaged counties, this proverb hits alarmingly close to home.

The people of Puget Sound refused to pass Proposition 1 this fall because they are not getting their money's worth now. They do not want to be taken for another ride. They want leaders who insist on plausible proposals and deliver on promises.

Leadership is the ability to craft and execute an effective plan. It shows foresight and vision. It repairs and replaces our infrastructure while it is still safe and usable. Gregoire's track record of planning and preparation is abysmal:

• The Legislature authorized money to fix Interstate 5 near Centralia and Chehalis against flooding five years ago; once again, DOT failed to work through the problems involved in getting it done. Now, the people of Lewis County are paying the price.

• The governor has promised for years to make the 520 floating bridge safe in high winds. Today, it is not even funded, and another winter of high winds is here.

• The governor made a big show of demanding replacement of the viaduct "before it pancakes." Seven years after the Nisqually earthquake, we do not even have a plan. Prince Rupert Island in British Columbia recently reported a 6.2 earthquake — only 600 miles north of Seattle. If the governor addresses the viaduct like she addressed the ferries, we will fix the viaduct when it falls down.

This is leadership? No one is held accountable for performance. The public gets it. The minority gets it. Evidently, in the current administration, performance and accountability are not important.

Now the governor wants to take money from the viaduct and give it to 520. She wants to build a smaller version of the bridge — six lanes rather than the eight we really need. Her hurry-up plan will not relieve congestion or provide for future transit options.

Worse, in 2008, the governor and majority will propose to fund the 520 floating bridge through tolls — penalizing people for driving cars. They point to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge as an example that has worked well. The public knows better.

With the Narrows Bridge, drivers do not have alternative routes. There are many alternatives to driving over 520. Some say regional tolling is a way to avoid the congestion caused by drivers trying to avoid toll roads. But regional tolling brings other problems.

First, it is poor policy to place tolls on roads without adding capacity. Second, regional tolls will not be linked to specific projects — they will just become a general revenue source. The Narrows Bridge toll will end when the bridge is paid for. However, if regional tolling is introduced under the guise of paying for 520, the state will have cleverly used a legitimate transportation need to create yet another permanent tax.

If we had solid planning, with accountability, the people would be able to see exactly what they are getting for their money. Instead, the majority's plan will simply foster more distrust by taking more public dollars without measurably improving people's lives.

I think our leaders are grossly underestimating the public's ability to see through this scam. Proposition 1's failure told us that. Perhaps the 2008 election will also.