SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
WSDOT gets low grades, but voters keep giving the state more money
Oct 19, 2015, 5:45 PM | Updated: Oct 20, 2015, 6:17 am
WSDOT was recently given a C- grade from Washingtonians. KIRO Radio's Dori Monson wants to know why voters keep giving the agency more money. (WSDOT)
(WSDOT)
The results are in. Residents have given the Washington State Department of Transportation a grade on how well it is serving their needs.
“You guys are barely a C- student,” KIRO Radio Traffic Reporter Sullivan said of the state agency on the Dori Monson Show. “You’re almost a D student right now.”
Which baffles Dori, a frequent critic of the state agency.
Related: WSDOT approval rating stagnant, survey says
“And yet, most of the times when they come to us and ask for more money, the voters say ‘yes.’ Which seems like insanity to me,” Dori said. “If you think they’re doing a lousy job, and they aren’t delivering on what they need to, why do we keep giving them everything they ask for?”
This November, voters will be asked to approve or deny transportation items on ballots in Seattle and Snohomish County.
Most respondents to the survey were from the King, Snohomish and Pierce Counties.
Unprompted, a majority of Washingtonians — 25 percent — said that traffic congestion is the biggest transportation problem in the state, followed by inadequate mass transit with 15 percent. About 10 percent noted that there is a lack of decent rail in the area.
“It just proves that everybody in this state is looking for an answer to the nightmare on the roads that we deal with every day,” Sullivan said, noting that WSDOT would likely argue that they are doing something about congestion with programs such as the new I-405 express toll lanes.
That might not alleviate the poor perception drivers on I-405 have, however.
“For the people driving on 405, they still believe congestion has gotten a lot worse because of the toll lanes. It’s only better if you can afford to pay for the lanes,” Dori said.
