King County Council members Julia Patterson, D-SeaTac, and Dow Constantine, D-West Seattle, said recently the county's list of transportation projects awaiting funding is "truly overwhelming."

Patterson and Constantine were among the public officials speaking at a King County Council roundtable on transportation issues at the Aerospace Machinists Industrial District Lodge in South Park. About 125 people attended.

"There is more transit and transportation construction going on today in King County than at any time in the last 10 years," Patterson said.

The backlog is the result of the county’s lack of investment in the transportation system over the past 20 years, she added.

Patterson also called for a new regional approach to transportation problems in the central Puget Sound area instead of expecting Seattle or King County to attempt to improve mobility alone.

That means getting people living outside King County to help pay for infrastructure from which they benefit, she said.

The regional approach to transportation problems is underway in other western cities such as Denver, Phoenix and San Diego, Patterson noted.

Most at the roundtable agreed there's been insufficient investment in the county’s -- and region's -- infrastructure of roads, bridges and viaducts.

Last fall, Washington voters decided not to repeal the 9.5 cents per gallon increase in the state gasoline tax. Nearly every panelist interpreted that affirmative vote as an expression of voter confidence in what state and local government have been doing to ease transportation problems.

Washington Secretary of Transportation Doug MacDonald said voters are concerned about safety on the roads. They also understand that roads are vital to the region's economy, he said.

Harold Taniguchi, director of the King County Department of Transportation, agreed it was a vote of confidence, but voiced concern about the backlog of work.

"We've lost ground," he said. "We have a whole list of projects but not enough money to do them."

There's still a shortage of money to replace the South Park Bridge, Taniguchi added.

Grace Crunican, director of the Seattle Department of Transportation, said Hurricane Katrina helped convince voters to invest in public infrastructure.

Public approval of spending on infrastructure will be bolstered as people see road construction projects and street repairs getting done, Crunican said.

City pothole-repair crews help build public support for transportation investments by fixing potholes within a few days of their being reported, she added.

"Accountability is extremely important so the public can see we're using taxpayers' money to fix streets," Crunican said.

The coming years of construction to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct will affect Highline residents.

This means the Washington State Department of Transportation, which owns and operates the Alaskan Way Viaduct, probably will have to pay mitigation money to the city of Seattle and King County for construction impacts the city and county will face.

Joining the call for a regional approach to transportation was Bruce Agnew, director of the Cascadia Project, part of the Discovery Institute.

The Cascadia Project, an effort to improve transportation from Vancouver, B.C. to Eugene, promotes high-speed passenger rail, freight mobility on Interstate 5 and seamless border crossings, according to its website.

One idea is establishing "hot lanes" on congested highways. Solitary motorists could pay a toll for the privilege of driving in high-occupancy vehicle lanes to free up space in the general purpose lanes.

Normandy Park Mayor Pro Tem George Hadley urged planners to de-emphasize construction of more bike lanes or other alternative transportation projects.

When Hadley asked the audience of about 125 how many of them had traveled by bus to the transportation roundtable, only two people raised their hands.

"People want congestion relief," he said.

Craig Keller was skeptical of the basic assumption of the waterfront tunnel plan to replace the viaduct, which he considers expensive and unnecessary.

The existing viaduct can be retrofitted for about $720 million, he said.

Just moving all of the electrical, natural gas, water, sewer and other underground pipes and lines will cost $300 million, Keller claimed. "People don't know about it," he said.

King County's decrease of investment extends to the Metro bus system, too. According to Councilman Larry Gossett, Metro set a goal to provide 510,000 hours of bus service but received only enough money for 220,000 hours.

During a question-and-answer period, North Highline Unincorporated Area Council member Ron Johnson said bus riders in north Seattle get a better deal on bus fare than residents of White Center and Boulevard Park.

Metro bus riders who start and end their ride in Seattle (considered one zone) during rush hours pay $1.50. If they continue the ride beyond the city limits, they enter a second zone and must pay $2.

Bus riders going to the northern city limits travel to North 145th Street before they have to pay $2. Yet southbound riders pay the higher fare when they cross the city limits at Southwest Roxbury Street -- the equivalent of Southwest 96th Street.

Johnson recommended extending the southern boundary of the one-zone ride to the Burien park-and-ride lot on Southwest 148th Street.

"We need a vision, especially for the southwest part of the city," South Park resident Joel Clement told the County Council and transportation directors.

With the Seattle monorail project defunct, Constantine said it's time to "reinvigorate" bus service. The way to pay for additional bus service, he said, is to use mitigation money.

Tim St. Clair can be reached at tstclair@robinsonnews.com or 206-932-0300.