Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - February 23, 2001
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Locke calls on unions to help ease Washington's traffic congestion

OLYMPIA - Gov. Gary Locke today urged Washington's unions to help him push legislation that would fix the state's toughest traffic choke points.

Speaking before the Washington State Labor Council's 2001 Legislative Conference, Locke said that without transportation improvements, "We're on a collision course with reality."

He said the Legislature should focus on the following problems:

Separating downtown train and auto traffic in Yakima and Seattle

Widening lanes on Interstate 90 in Spokane and on Interstate 5 in Southwest Washington

Extending HOV lanes on I-5 from Everett to Lakewood

Providing funding for essential transit services

Making critical improvements to the ferry system

The governor said Washington is losing $2 billion per year in productivity due to the state's traffic congestion. He also warned the state should expect another two million vehicles on its roads in the next 20 years.

Solving transportation problems will be tough because of this year's budget constraints due to revenue shortfalls and Initiative 601's spending cap.

"I can assure you that we will fund the K-12 class size reductions and teachers' raises. Beyond that point, things get very difficult. Money is simply very, very tight," Locke said.

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