TRANSIT: Majority of transit measures pass nationwide

Mulling hundreds of billions of dollars in public transportation investment across referenda nationwide, voters approved 33 of 48 local and statewide public transit measures—a 69% passage rate (based on results as they currently stand). Los Angeles, Seattle and Atlanta were three major cities that gave the thumbs-up to better public transit.

With nearly 70% voting yes on Measure M, Los Angeles County is set to see a dramatic transit transformation over the coming decades with a permanent half-cent sales tax hike. The plan will rake in some $121 billion for proposed and ongoing projects such as a rail connection to LAX and a subway tunnel through the Sepulveda Pass. Long-disconnected neighborhoods in the region’s southeastern reaches are also slated for rail and bus-rapid transit connections. The plan’s greatest potential may be in improving mobility for the people who already use transit in L.A.: predominantly lower-income bus riders.

Also clearing the ballot box was Sound Transit 3, a light-rail jumpstart that promises to become one of the largest transit projects in American history. The plan is to more than double the Seattle region’s light-rail system, with 62 miles of new track and 37 stations built over 25 years. It will also install three BRT lines and a chain of park-and-ride stations across urban Snohomish, King, and Pierce counties by 2041.

Atlanta voters overwhelmingly passed a .4% sales tax increase that would raise $300 million over five years for transportation improvements, with projects including the completion of the city’s BeltLine loop of green trails, 15 “complete streets” projects, a bike-share scale-up and significant sidewalk improvements.