It appears there will be three major transportation issues on the November ballot, one from the city, one from the county and a third issue from a three-county regional transportation consortium to pay for larger projects.

No price tag is attached to the three issues that voters will have to approve or reject. That will come during the summer.

The first issue for the ballot will be a one-tenth of 1 percent sales tax increased proposed by King County Executive Ron Sims last week to pay for a massive increase in the size of Metro Transit. That increase would raise $50 million in the first year of collection , Sims said last week (see Tim St. Clair's story, Page One).

A second issue is being considered by the Seattle City Council to find ways of catching up on a $500 million backlog of city transportation projects, such as the Spokane Viaduct and the Magnolia Bridge along with a multitude of smaller projects. Other than the general cost figure, there are no specifics yet formed by the council

The third issue on the drawing boards is the King, Snohomish and Pierce counties for overarching transportation problems. That, again, is still in the planning stage and no dollar amount known.

Whether bond issues or tax increases, it appears that three major money issues will face voters in November. Millions and millions of dollars.

We wonder what voters will do when faced with such huge packages. We think voters will take one look and vote down all three. Maybe our leaders should consider another, comprehensive way to find money for these long-delayed projects.