Resolution 5229 - Laserfiche WebLink

,41(41%,,ms-al STT RESOLUTION NO. 5229 A RESOLUTION OF THE EVERETT CITY COUNCIL in support of Referendum Bill No. 51, a bill that would increase highway capacity,public transportation, passenger and freight rail, and transportation financing accountability through increased fuel excise taxes, sales taxes on vehicles, and weight fees on trucks and large vehicles being placed before the voters on the November 5,2002 general-election ballot. WHEREAS,the City of Everett and its residents and businesses rely heavily on a transportation system of state and federal highways that serve as our key regional and state corridors; and WHEREAS,the City of Everett serves as a critical transportation"convergence zone" in the Puget Sound Region and Washington State for both vehicles(Interstate 5/U.S. Highway 2)and freight(Interstate 5, US-2, Burlington Northern Santa Fe mainline and U.S.-Canada line); and WHEREAS,the City of Everett is one of the major employment centers in the Puget Sound region and the State of Washington,home to more than 80,000 jobs; and WHEREAS,The Boeing Co.'s 747, 767, and 777 production facility in Everett is the largest employer in both Snohomish County and neighboring Skagit County,placing added pressure on Interstate 5 and other key components of the regional/state transportation infrastructure; and WHEREAS,the City's transportation system has become increasingly congested in recent years, due not only to population growth and the concentration of employment within the City of Everett but as a direct result of insufficient state investment in transportation infrastructure; and WHEREAS,the City of Everett's own Transportation Improvement Plan(TIP) shows that to fully address the array of needed state highway,corridor,freight route and transit investments in and around the City would require in excess of$400 million, a level of investment that is well beyond what one local jurisdiction and its citizens can meaningfully address; and WHEREAS,growing congestion on Interstate 5 in particular,but also on Evergreen Way,the Bothell-Everett Highway,the Boeing Freeway(SR-526),and the City's network of arterials, lengthening commutes for area residents and employees,delaying critical freight movements through and around the city, and causing Everett to be frequently mentioned as a problem area on morning and evening radio traffic reports; and WHEREAS,that same congestion and traffic growth have made the Puget Sound area freeways and highways the second most congested in the country,with two million more vehicles being added to those roads over the past 20 years and the yearly price of gridlock and brake-tapping reaching an estimated$2 billion a year in lost time due to delays; and WHEREAS,major employers have been very blunt in telling officials from the City,the Region and the State as a whole that they will not expand in Everett—and may not stay at all—if there are not significant investments and actual improvements in the transportation infrastructure; and 1