If you lived around here long enough, you realize the traffic has gotten a lot busier.
Every day, over 5,000 Snoqualmie residents leave for work outside the Valley, mostly in single-occupancy cars. Another 5,000 people drive here to work in our schools, hospital, city government, and other businesses. We benefit by having essential serivces, shops, restaurants, and other places that make this a great place to live and thrive.
We have also had tragic accidents on State Route 18. In fact, according to the stats from the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, those who drive over this roadway have a higher liklihood of dying in an auto accident than in their places of work. That is simply unacceptable.
Through my work on the King County Affordable Housing Committee, I have been advocating for Metro service across SR 18 as one of the easiest approaches to our housing crisis and for rural equity.
The solution is easy.
We already know it costs $2 million dollars to build six units of affordable housing. What if we used that money for Metro bus service instead?
While I am a huge advocate for the need to expand affordable housing, it will take years to simply build enough. Our ongoing challenge will be a lack of land, services, and ability to build all the housing units needed.
In the meantime, we can do something to make commuting to work safer. Buses. We can reduce our carbon footprint by having frequent bus service.
One employer already got so frustrated with the circumstances, they started bussing their own employees over this dangerous roadway. No public funds were used. Really? Cannot our tax dollars help us instead?
Rest assured, I will continue to fight for what is right for our community, our employees, and our community. We can and must expect better.
