Regional transportation package/ King County

YOU BUILD IT

Widen Interstate 405. Extend light rail to Northgate. Rebuild the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Replace the Highway 520 bridge before it sinks.

Which do we build? All? None?

And how do we pay for these projects? Raise the sales tax? Vehicle taxes? The gas tax?

What about tolls?

Planners and elected officials mapping the Seattle area's transportation future have been struggling with tough decisions like these for nearly a year.

Now it's your turn.

On these pages — and online at www.seattletimes.com/trans_budget/ — you get a chance to weigh in on the big transportation decisions.

What projects make sense to you? How much are you willing to pay?

This is an important time for the region as it searches for solutions to its traffic troubles. Last spring the state Legislature gave King, Snohomish and Pierce counties permission to craft a package of regional transportation improvements and taxes to submit to voters, perhaps in November.

But the new Regional Transportation Investment District (RTID) hasn't decided what the projects should be or how to pay for them.

Board members have heard from interest groups and local governments. But they haven't heard much from the public.

This form is an attempt to inject citizens' views into this dialogue.

Here's what you do: Fill out the form, in print or online. Pick from among 29 projects — freeways, roads, transit — then find the money to pay for them from among eight revenue sources.

Send the completed form to us. We'll tabulate and analyze the results, and report on them.

This isn't a scientific poll. The results will reflect only the views of those who participate. We can't guarantee this will have any influence on the RTID.

But it might.

We're doing this for three reasons:

• To give you a better sense of the options and trade-offs the decision makers face.

• To give the decision makers a better sense of what you want — or don't want.

• And maybe — just maybe — to narrow the chasm that seems to divide those of us being governed from those doing the governing.

As you complete this form, remember two things:

First, keep geography and political reality in mind. If you live in Seattle and choose only Seattle projects, your brother-in-law in Kent may not have much reason to vote for your package. Second, balance your budget. Try to match the total cost of the projects you choose with the taxes you pick.

If the RTID board's experience is any guide, it won't be easy. Those of you filling this out in the newspaper might want to start with a pencil instead of a pen.

Eric Pryne: 206-464-2231 or epryne@seattletimes.com