GUEST COLUMN: Meeting the transportation needs of Snohomish County

We've all seen tremendous growth in Snohomish County, and there's more on the way. The Puget Sound Regional Council forecasts the county's population will increase another 240,000 people by 2040 ' that's about 10,000 people a year.

In Monroe, that is no surprise, as new housing and retail development is being built every year. The city expects its population to increase by 25 percent in that same timeframe.

The future is looking crowded.

Community Transit's mission is to keep Snohomish County moving ' now, and in the future. On a busy day, up to 40,000 people ride Community Transit buses, vanpools and DART paratransit vehicles ' that's a lot of cars that are not on the road.

We recently increased service in Monroe and ridership here has grown. Even with all our buses in service, there are more people who want to use transit. Meeting that demand is important, even if you never use the bus.

The region's traffic problem is getting worse with all this growth, so it's important that we provide a public transportation option for those who choose it, and more space on the road for those who don't.

Last year our ridership increased 8 percent, and it continues to grow this year. Our commuter service to Seattle fills up early, and people are standing in the aisle for the entire commute. We're currently stretched beyond our limits to meet demand.

Our service helps protect our quality of life and helps our economy grow.

Thankfully, we have an opportunity to make investments that will improve our transit service. The new state transportation bill enabled our board of directors ' made up of elected leaders from around Snohomish County ' to place a measure on the November ballot to increase transit service.

If approved, the three-tenths of 1 percent increase in sales tax would cost the average adult $33 a year and would enable us to add:

" More trips on local bus routes throughout the county.

" More commuter bus trips to downtown Seattle and the University of Washington.

" New service to emerging job, housing, retail, health and educational centers throughout the county.

" New routes, such as Marysville-to-McCollum Park via Lake Stevens, Snohomish and Silver Firs along Highway 9.

" A second Swift bus rapid transit line between Boeing/Paine Field and the high-tech job center at Canyon Park/Bothell, along Highway 526.

" More east-west bus trips in South Snohomish County and a possible third Swift line to connect to light rail when it gets here in 2023.

Our long-term vision is to have a network of Swift lines for fast, frequent bus service throughout the county. Even better, we can begin delivering the improvements right away. If the measure is approved in November, we can have more trips on the road next March.

Eighty percent of our riders use Community Transit to go to the work every morning. They're heading to their jobs, earning a paycheck and boosting our economy. In the evening, 80 percent of our riders use Community Transit to come home. They're meeting friends, going to Little League games and sitting on the porch with loved ones.

We have the opportunity to add more bus trips, take more cars off the road, help more people get to their destinations and make our homegrown transit service even better. It's up to us to ensure that our future here in Monroe and throughout the county is just as amazing as the community we love today.

For more information on Proposition 1, visit www.communitytransit.org/futuretransit.

Emmett Heath is the CEO for Community Transit.