Working together to protect Island"s I-90 access

By Steve Litzow

Island Forum

Last summer I voted against the amendment to the 1976 I-90 Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) because I felt it weakened Mercer Island's position in determining the future development of I-90. The amendment was passed by the City Council and has been adopted and incorporated into the I-90 MOA. Sound Transit is now proceeding with how and when High Capacity Transit (HCT) should be implemented on I-90 as well as the rest of the region. HCT is defined as light rail, monorail or bus rapid transit.

The issue now is what can we do, both as a City Council and a community, to ensure our needs and rights on I-90 are fulfilled and protected.

Sound Transit is now making decisions that will affect our access to I-90, although the very earliest implementation of some form of HCT on I-90 is probably five years away. Sound Transit plans to adopt a long range plan that provides a blueprint for the development of the Puget Sound transportation infrastructure for the next 30 years. This plan will identify a variety of projects throughout the Puget Sound region. Importantly, it will include a specific recommendation on the type of HCT for the I-90 section that crosses our Island.

Sound Transit will then choose a handful of priority projects from the plan and ask voters to fund these projects in November '06 at the earliest. HCT for the section of I-90 that crosses Mercer Island may or may not be included in this group of projects.

Every other citizen in the Sound Transit region has multiple choices of roads that allow them to get to and from their homes and offices independent of I-90. We simply do not. Any change to Mercer Island's historical access to the I-90 center lanes will impact Mercer Island ability to get on and off the Island. Additionally, moving Mercer Island traffic into the regular lanes on the outer bridge decks will not only impact us, but other I-90 traffic as well.

There is a Sound Transit study (May 2004 Final EIS) that implies ``severe congestion'' would result on I-90 should the HCT type selected by Sound Transit displace Mercer Island traffic out of the I-90 center lanes. This congestion became abundantly clear earlier this year when the center lanes where closed as part of a Mercer Island police action.

The Sound Transit Board is currently debating which type of HCT should be used on I-90 as part of its long range plan. The City Council is looking at a number of ways to make sure our Island's needs and rights are protected. We have sent a letter to the Sound Transit Board reinforcing the Island's concerns. Members of the council have testified before the board.

After almost a year of struggle on the I-90/SOV issue, I remain confident that my decision to vote against the amendment was correct, but we need to deal with the reality that the amendment was passed and sent to Sound Transit.

As an Island that uniquely relies on I-90, we need to be proactive and vigilant in working with Sound Transit and DOT to preserve our Single Occupancy Vehicle (SOV) access, regardless of the location of the HOV lanes. The City Council is looking at a number of ways to make sure our Island's needs and rights are protected with SOV rights being the top priority. I support the creation of a joint City Council/citizen committee, similar to the successful efforts during the original I-90 discussion agreement, to lead this effort. As always, I look forward to hearing from you.

Steve Litzow has served on the City Council since 2003. He will be at the south-end Starbucks this Saturday morning (April 23) from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. to listen to your comments. He can also be reached at Steve@Litzow.com.

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