Washington State to Increase Gas Tax by Seven Cents on Saturday
"This package represents the largest, single investment in transportation in state history," said Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee (D), who signed the bill at the University of Washington bike-friendly campus, as the King 5 News video below shows.
- $8.8 billion for road and safety projects including mega-projects such as SR 520 bridge, the North Spokane Corridor, SR 167/SR 509 Gateway Project, and widening of I-5 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
- $1.4 billion for highway maintenance and preservation.
- $1.3 billion for non-highway projects such as bike paths, rail, and transit.
- $602 million for ferries including a fourth Olympic Class Ferry Vessel.
- Other investments related to fish barrier removal, bridge preservation, freight rail improvements, electric vehicle, and alternative fuel tax credits and commute trip reduction programs.
"The package also authorizes Sound Transit to seek voter-approval for $15 billion to extend light rail as far north as Everett and as far south as Tacoma," notes the press release.
While the Washington gas tax increase is only the second to be signed into law by a Democratic governor this year, it marks the ninth time that state legislatures have passed gas tax increases and been signed into law, with one notable exception. The political party of the governor is indicated below (Democrat, Republican, Independent).
- Georgia (R)
- Idaho (R)
- Kentucky (D)
- North Carolina (R)
- South Dakota (R)
- Utah (R)
- Nebraska [bill became law as a result of overriding Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) veto]
- Alaska (Ind.)
Topics
- The Deliberate Segregation of U.S. Cities, as Evidenced by Freeway Congestion
- A Retiring Dean Considers the Changing Responsibilities of Planners
- A New Kind of Planning Controversy: the Emoji House
- Mobility Data: How Your Travel Patterns Could Inform Policy
- Shared Mobility Subsidies Dry Up, Revealing the Industry’s Economic Realities
- Voters Will Decide on $3.5 Billion Transit Funding Bond in Houston
- As Cities Densify, New Building Design Strategies Keep Them Livable
- New D.C. Development Guidelines Require More Consideration of Walkability
- Columbia River Crossing Project Officially Back From the Dead
- Gentrification and Race in the San Francisco Bay Area
- Climate Change as a Housing Crisis 'Threat Multiplier'
- Unified Fare Payment in Detroit
- Twin Cities Light Rail Cuts Overnight Service, Displaces Hundreds of Homeless Riders
- As Housing Units Multiply, Local Businesses Struggle to Hang On in Downtown Oakland
- 'Housing Twitter' and the Great Debate
- Good and Bad News in California's Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventory
- Oil and Water: Ride-Hailing and Airport Traffic
- New Landscape Architecture Prize the First of its Kind
- Train Travel Gains Popularity as 'Flight Shame' Trends in Europe
- New Paper: Exclusionary Is a National Problem in Need of Federal Action
