The RTA proposal is the product of the hard work and good intentions of a large number of public officials and dedicated staff members, seeking to address an issue of towering importance to the future of the Puget Sound community. Nevertheless, the public interest will not be served by placing the RTA's proposal before the people in its current form. The automobile has an unparalleled ability to conveniently and securely transport an individual or family to virtually any destination. It also is the nation's primary environmental problem in terms of land consumed, air and water polluted, and the need for vast storm sewer systems to drain impermeable surfaces. However, we will not continue to expand our driving and sprawling at the rate to which we have become accustomed, because constraining limits are upon us.
Congestion is a particularly unwelcome harbinger.
I am in general agreement with the Puget Sound Regional Council's 1995 Regional Transportation Plan and regard it as an enlightened document. I applaud its emphasis on increasing the efficiency with which we use the existing transportation system, including pricing strategies and better land use, its call to moderate demand through aggressive Transportation Demand Management strategies, improve public transit service, pay greater attention to the benign possibilities inherent in bicycling and walking, and affirm the need to make investments in new road capacity in developing areas. The beginning of wisdom in facing the transportation crisis is to recognize the extent to which the automobile is subsidized. The consequences of pollution and land consumption are borne by everyone, not just the automobile owner. Road construction and highway maintenance are subsidized by the general taxpayer.