Yesterday, the governor signed into place a bill allowing tolls on 520 starting as early as next year. Honestly, I’m pretty disappointed in this. I understand both sides of the arguments but also believe that with our region being one of the highest taxed and with costs of living being so high…shouldn’t we be able to find the money to rebuild the bridge somewhere else. I think what disgruntles me the most is the fact that tolls could end up at $6 or $7.

With the way our region is set up…it is almost impossible not to have a good sized commute to work. Take Microsoft for example…many Microsoft employees are able to afford to own a nice home in higher demand areas like Queen Anne, Magnolia, etc. Ultimately, this adds a few hundred bucks a month to their work commute. With Bellevue growing so quickly I have no doubt in my mind that even more employees than before will be commuting from downtown Seattle to the eastside for work.

Without getting into the debate over if we should also charge tolls on I-90 (which is an interesting debate in itself)…my biggest concern is how this will affect the everyday lives of eastsiders. Ultimately, many people may consider moving as the cost of living will increase drastically for those commuting across the lake. And…as we know, this isn’t a good time to try to sell.

Also, imagine the increased traffic on the alternatives…with 405 near capacity already, can we afford to have the extra traffic travelling towards 522 and I-90 each day trying to save money. Personally, it is just slightly longer for me to take 522 than 520 from where I live…I generally take 520. However, if there was to be a large toll imposed I believe myself and many other drivers would increase our time spent on 522. This is great news for the communities up north as it should help build the local businesses and cause a small boom to the housing market.

But…can the traffic infrastructure handle this? 522 seems near capacity already…especially in the Bothell area. I-90 has large traffic back-ups consistently during peak driving times. These will only worsen. Also, there is no doubt in my mind that you will see a different type of traffic on I-405 due to people trying to avoid 520…how bad it will get is up for debate.

I am interested in seeing other people’s comments on what will happen with our local traffic. Maybe tolls are OK…but how high is definately a concern for me. As someone who sells and owns real estate in Bothell…I do get slightly excited thinking about how this could help our local market…but I also dread even more trying to get downtown during rush hour for a ball game or a nice dinner.

Maybe it’s time to start considering moving…but who wants to sell in this market. At least it’s a good time to buy!

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008 at 4:17 am and is filed under Puget Sound. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.