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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Late last Wednesday, the state Transportation Commission decided to change the rules for HOV carpool lanes on I-405. Instead of two riders, you must now have three riders in your car to ride for free in the HOV lanes, during peak hours. Otherwise you'll have to pay a toll.
This is a terrible idea that will disrupt many people's commutes. To make matters even worse, most of the toll revenues will go to an out-of-state company that's
administering the tolls — not to the state transportation budget.
My bill to require some legislative agreement before changing the rules for HOV lanes could still be resurrected this session. I'm doing everything I can to put a stop to this.
To read the transcript of my interview with KIRO Radio's Dori Monson last Thursday, click here.
Finally, a big thank you to everyone who took the 44th District transportation survey. There were 285 responses. Here are the results:
- Would you support replacing the gas tax with a road usage charge? Yes: 15%; NO: 56%; Need more information: 29%
- Do you support changing the I-405 HOV lane ridership rule from two people to three? Yes: 11%; NO: 89%
- Should HOV lanes be replaced with general-purpose lanes? Yes: 30%; NO: 70%
Sincerely,
Mark Harmsworth
