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News, Politics, Transportation

Sustainable 520 Coalition NIMBYs Their Way to Support of Eyman’s I-1125

The SunBreak’s reporting on the Sustainable 520 Coalition has tended to champion their local homeowners’ underdog fight against WSDOT plans for a much larger replacement bridge, but their latest move is, forgive us, a bridge too far.

“Why Voting FOR initiative 1125 Will Stop the 520 Project” is the subject line of the group’s email, where they discuss supporting Tim Eyman’s absurd initiative as a way of forestalling 520 expansion. As they point out, I-1125’s balderdash would work, to some extent, in their favor:

  • It prevents tolls on I-90 being used for the expansion of SR 520.
  • It says tolls have to be the same all day and night.

“This means,” the coalition concludes, “there will be insufficient funding to build the west side of SR 520, and the floating bridge probably can’t be expanded.” Yes, and shooting yourself in the head cures cancer.

To be fair, the group does assess the pros and cons of this dance with a lesser demon. What’s not to like about I-1125? They admit:

  • It forbids tolls which vary by time of day to help control congestion.
  • It prevents light rail on I-90.
  • It prevents toll revenues from being used for maintenance and upgrading after the bonds are paid for.

However, the coalition argues, completely unconvincingly, “the policies we don’t like can be changed by the legislature after two years. …[T]he long term consequences of allowing this river of concrete to flow through the City are so great, that it is worth considering the option of voting for I-1125.”

You will have divined that I don’t see the short-term versus long-term strategy in the same terms. Nor do I think throwing I-90’s light rail under a bus (HEY-O!) even temporarily, while the Kemper Freemans of the world are looking for ways to kill it, is canny.

The coalition is succumbing to a NIMBY mindset, when they should be seeking common cause. This move supports the wider perception that the spoiled little rich residents of Montlake don’t like the noise and fuss of construction, when they’re working so hard to frame the problem with the new bridge in terms of environmental impact. If the only environment you’re concerned with is your backyard, you lose moral ground.