DANGER: Rough Road Ahead

Printable Version (pdf, 601 kb)

Washington’s deteriorating city streets and bridges threaten our economic future and quality of life.

Acting now to reverse the steady decline of our city transportation systems will save taxpayers millions of dollars in the long-run. 

See: Danger: Rough Road Ahead (pdf, 132 kb)

A Transportation Crisis for Washington Cities

Washington cities are falling dangerously behind in maintaining city streets and bridges and meeting growing capacity and mobility needs. Significant cuts in state funding, coupled with the loss of revenue sources, have created a crisis for our local transportation systems.

In 2002, cities invested $936 million on transportation -- $200 million for street maintenance alone. Yet this covers only one-third of ongoing needs and does not address a critical maintenance backlog.

A 1998 legislative study showed Washington cities facing a $2.42 billion shortfall in transportation infrastructure funding. And the problem has grown steadily worse.

See: A Growing Transportation Crisis (pdf, 388 kb)

How Did We How Did We Get Here?

• Drastic transportation funding cuts from statewide initiatives, with city losses projected at $1.2 billion by 2007.
• Discontinuation of the Small City Paving Program, which funded 157 cities and paved 160 miles of streets.
• Transportation Investment Board revenues are limited - only $1 is granted for every $8 requested.
• A 2003 Nickel Package with no new gas tax distributions for cities, a departure from past legislative practice.
• Loss of the Street Utility Fee, Vehicle Licensing Fee and dedicated freight mobility funds.
• When a state highway runs through a city of 22,500 and over, state mandates require the city to assume costs for maintenance, signalization, ADA and most traffic control.
• A 40% decrease in per capita state gas tax distributions, requiring significant increases in city transportation spending.

See: City Per-Capita Distribution of Gas Tax v. Population (pdf, 148 kb)

Growing Needs

City population has grown 43% since 1990, compared to 3.5% in unincorporated areas. Washington’s cities are home to nearly two-thirds of the state’s population. Despite this, transportation funding is increasingly focused on state needs, while neglecting city streets.

Nearly 90% of the state GDP is generated in the state’s top 9 metropolitan areas, yet funding to support transportation in these employment centers continues to decline.

Every City Affected, Regardless of Size or Location

Eastern Washington cities face freeze/thaw cycles that accelerate street deterioration.

Streets in newly incorporated and annexed cities need major investments to meet urban standards.

Larger economic centers need major improvements for congestion relief, freight mobility, and earthquake protection - requiring a level of investment that local resources alone cannot meet.

Many intermediate and smaller cities serve as a through corridor for commuting workers, resulting in extraordinary congestion.

Small rural communities are unable to fund the most basic resurfacing projects and cannot afford even modest improvements to their streets.

See: Examples (pdf, 93 kb)

We Need to Act, and Act Now.

The cost of inaction is high. As our city streets and arterials deteriorate, the cost to repair or replace them doubles every 10 to 15 years.

See: Cost of Repair Over Time (pdf, 79 kb)

The Solution

To solve these problems, Washington cities need an injection of direct state dollars and new local funding options. The last such action by the State Legislature was in 1990 - when Governor Booth Gardner was still in office.

State legislative actions should include:

• At least 5 cents of new gas tax distributions. Even with this addition, it would take 6 years to return state baseline investment to 1991 levels.
• Future gas tax distributions that ensure a fairer return to cities, which handle a disproportionate amount of the state’s employment and commuter traffic.
• A fund to provide pavement assistance for 178 cities under 5,000. Currently, it would take decades for these smaller cities to fund a major transportation project.
• Increase funds for the Transportation Improvement Board (TIB), a key city transportation funding partner.
• Dedicated funding for freight mobility--critical to keeping our State competitive in the global economy.
• Reinstating the Corridor Program to assist with multi-jurisdictional corridor needs.

Additionally, cities need new local transportation funding options to meet urgent and growing needs. These could include:

• Re-enactment of the $15 vehicle license fee
• Local option gas tax for cities (if counties and RTIDs do not utilize)
• Street utility authority
• Other locally implemented options, including Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) charge, weight-based fees, etc.

What Our Leaders Have to Say
about theTransportation Crisis

"The state legislature, cities and counties need to have a reasonable discussion on providing local transportation funding options."
- Ruth Fisher, Transportation Commissioner

"One in four jobs in Washington is dependent upon trade. More than 100,000 agricultural jobs depend on the ability to move products efficiently to our ports from other parts of the state. We can’t build a first rate economy on second rate roads."
- Mic Dinsmore, Chief Executive Officer, Port of Seattle

"Nearly every trip in this state begins or ends on a city street. If we continue to fall further and further behind in the basic upkeep of our local roads and bridges, our citizens and our economy will pay a heavy price for decades to come."
- Juli Wilkerson, Director, Community Trade and Economic Development

"Our cities are where most of our jobs are. As cities collaborate to grow prosperity in every region of our state, their ability to take care of transportation basics is challenged as never before. Investment in basic city infrastructure is a requirement for our state to be as competitive as it can be."
- Bob Drewel, Executive Director, Puget Sound Regional Council

"While the State is working to address problems on our state highways, we face an equally serious threat on our city streets. Freight haulers need both a strong local road system and a good highway network to get our products to market, get our people to work and stay competitive. If one part of the system doesn’t work, the entire network begins to fail."
- Larry Pursley, Executive Vice President, Washington Trucking Associations

"Local streets and roads need help just as much as state highways. Without new funding for local transportation projects, maintenance backlogs will continue to grow and the condition of the roads will fall further and further behind."
- Doug MacDonald, State Secretary of Transportation

Contact Us for More Information

Ashley Probart
Transportation Coordinator
Association of Washington Cities
360-753-4137
ashleyp@awcnet.org

August 2004