We’ve covered Democrats’ war on jobs and their war on democracy already this week — but, we’d be remiss if we did not also point out Democrats’ war on transportation… particularly, cars. Just like their war on jobs and democracy, Democrats’ war on transportation is apparent at all levels of government.
Of course, no other local government best exposes Democrats’ war on transportation more than the City of Seattle. For years, Seattle officials have implemented policies meant to force people out of their cars. But, their latest schemes are an escalation of the hostility.
Over the next 20 years, Seattle plans to “aggressively convert street right of way to non-vehicular use, discourage creation of parking capacity as the city grows, and minimize parking at public parks, limiting their accessibility. It may also toll streets to pay for such improvements.”
But, that’s not all.
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) — under the direction of Seattle Mayor Ed Murray — will begin ranking street performance “by how many single-occupant vehicles (SOV) are using them.” Since the ultimate priority is to get people out of their cars, the streets with fewer cars using them will be ranked as the best performing.
As the Seattle Times pointed out, the hostile approach will “influence decisions on where to improve or reduce street capacity for cars.” The approach will “also affect the city’s negotiations with big developers, to mitigate the effect of their projects.” And, of course, the approach “gives the finger to those who drive cars, meaning nearly all residents and businesses.”
At the state level, despite public backlash following the I-405 tolling debacle, Democrats have not given up on their plans to toll major highways. As Shift reported, in a 2008 presentation by the Puget Sound Regional Council, officials pushed a plan to toll every highway by the year 2040, in order to raise billions in revenue to allegedly improve infrastructure.
The plan has been stymied so far due to federal law. However, by every indication, liberals are pushing boundaries. Democrat lawmakers are “trying to loosen laws to allow for more tolling,” apparently not thinking twice about the congestion their tolls produce.
Democrats claim that the solution to traffic congestion is light rail. Of course, they ignore the fact that even former Sound Transit CEO Joni Earl admitted that more light rail will not provide congestion relief — most recently, Transportation Choice’s Shefali Ranganathan made the same admission.
Democrats’ war on transportation promises to have devastating impacts to our state’s economy. Take, for an example, the impact their schemes would have on the Puget Sound region.
According to reports, in 2014, 82 percent of trips in the Puget Sound region were made in personal cars. By contrast, in 1999, 86 percent of trips were made in personal cars. That’s a mere 4% decrease in the course of 15 years, despite significant increases in public transportation options.
The obvious conclusion is that commuters are simply not interested in giving up their cars.
The Puget Sound region’s population is growing. The region cannot sustain its growth utilizing an out-of-touch, irresponsible far-Left agenda. The costs are too high.
A 2014 state study revealed that “21,700 jobs and $3.6 billion in economic output will be lost if congestion increases 20 percent in the central Puget Sound region.”
Interestingly enough, that means Democrats’ war on transportation only helps their war on jobs.
For the liberals, that’s a win-win situation.
Just another cash cow to spend the revenue onto something else. I like how they sight public parking only but not private. If congestion is too much for Seattle to handle, then why not limit business? There is plenty of open space for businesses in Thurston County and south along I-5.