US Cities approve tax measures to fund transit

11 November 2016


Voters in two Seattle and Los Angeles, two of the largest cities in the US, approved measures to further fund infrastructure development for public transit on Tuesday, November 8.

In Seattle the Sound Transit 3 proposition calls for completing major mass transit extensions every few years over a 25-year period, with 62 new miles of light rail in the Puget Sound region. Of the light rail plans included in the measure, at least once includes a tunnel component. The plan is worth about USD 54bn.

Los Angeles voters passed Measure M with more than 69 per cent. It’s a sales tax that will fund infrastructure repair and development including expanding rail, subway and bus systems. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority expects Measure M to generate USD 860M million a year in 2017 dollars. The proposed projects will be built over a 40-year period.

Metro released a statement on their Web site Wednesday, “Thanks to the public for putting their faith in us to build a transportation system for today, tomorrow and beyond. Together, we are making history and are showing the nation – even the world – how to be bold and forward thinking as we continue to transform transportation across our region.”

The TBM for the Northgate Link LRT project in Seattle, a city poised to see more light rail construction. Photo by Sound Transit