Saying ‘no’ is easy | Editorial

Published 10:42 am Tuesday, January 6, 2015

The new Councilmember to be appointed at the end of this month must get up to speed quickly on a veritable mountain of issues facing the Island.

As any current or former Councilmember would tell you, the issues facing the Island and the region, are not only pressing but complex. From the outside, it is easy to object outright to what Sound Transit or the State of Washington says is what must be. It is another matter altogether to fashion a compromise and work out a deal.

The job of the City Council is to act on behalf of Island citizens in how they direct the City Manager. The Council sets the tone and the parameters of his job by defining what Islanders want from their community.

It seems that much of that job lately is to fend off those who might want to take a piece of our Island away — whether it is how the library functions or adding tolls or parking. Yet, it is not always possible to control every incursion into Island life. Islanders like to believe that they and only they should determine the Island’s destiny. But we live in a world larger than the Island. We must work together to manage change. We might have to compromise a bit.

It is primarily I-90 that has brought the Island its prosperity and it is I-90 that is now causing the most pain. The freeway just by itself is a perfect metaphor for the impacts of growth in our region. It is continuously under construction, suffers from grueling backups, and the effects of a single accident can ripple for miles. It needs billions of dollars to fix, update and expand to accommodate the ever-increasing load of trucks, travelers and commuters.

And why is that? The prosperity Islanders and Western Washington residents enjoy has enticed others to come our way —  thousands and thousands of them — for the same values we hold. Good jobs, schools and a beautiful environment.  And they are driving in on I-90.