Tolling I-90—the ONLY access to and from Mercer Island—is wrong. Here's why:
- Tolling will force I-90 users to pay a second time for a structure already paid for by their taxes.
- Tolling will impose a penalty tax on Mercer Island residents, businesses, schools, and employees (minimum $1,500 per year per person for one daily round trip to off-island employment).
- Tolling will decrease real estate values on Mercer Island.
- Tolling will impose an economic and social barrier between Seattle and the Eastside.
- Tolling will make it more difficult for Mercer Island businesses to attract customers and employees.
- Tolling will increase costs for everyone living on the Eastside, with an additional, disproportionate burden falling on Mercer Island residents who must make trips off the island for many necessities.
- Tolling will detrimentally impact the Mercer Island School District, over two-thirds of whose employees live off-island, either in Seattle or on the Eastside.
- Tolling will deter students, tradespeople, and visitors from coming to Mercer Island to study, work, and visit.
- Tolling will impede Mercer Islander residents' access to health care.
- Tolling will divert almost no traffic (5%) to I-90 if SR 520 alone is tolled and I-90 is not tolled, according to a study by the 520 Tolling Implementation Committee.
The 2009 Washington State Legislature will be considering placing tolls on I-90. A toll on I-90 would have severe impacts on everyone who lives, works, goes to school or owns property on Mercer Island. The City of Seattle has already voted and communicated its position to “strongly encourage the Committee to develop and evaluate a scenario that places tolls on both SR520 and I-90 in 2010.
Mercer Island needs to make its opinion known.
Here's what you can do to help:
There are many organizations and individuals which need to be made aware of the hardships that tolling will exact on a population dependent on I-90 for daily egress and ingress. Tolling the only route on and off Mercer Island is unacceptable, and we must make that clear to the 520 Tolling Implementation Committee, the Mercer Island City Council, the Washington State Transportation Commission, our Governor, our State Legislature, and all other planning and/or government authorities, local, regional, and federal. There's a lot of work to be done, but a good start can be made by contacting the representatives shown on the left. There are links to their websites and their email addresses. Download a draft letter to mail to them here. Or edit it to reflect your own views.
Also send comments to the 520 Implementation Committee by going to the www.build520.org website and clicking on Contact Us. The Library section contains information related to funding, tolling, and building 520. There is a link to it on the left column of this page.
Related Washington State Bills
These are bills passed by the 2008 Washington State Legislature on tolling-related issues.
Bill ESHB 3096, sponsored by Representatives Clibborn and McIntire, deals with funding the SR 520 bridge, seeking Federal Highways Administration permission to toll I-90, and setting up the 520 Tolling Implementation Committee.
Bill E2SHB 1773, sponsored by Representatives Clibborn and Jarrett, deals with the imposition of tolling.