Spokane Transit Authority, in its second attempt in as many years to raise sales taxes for ongoing operations as well as and expansion, has made sensible changes to its ballot measure. Because of those changes and the fundamental importance of mass transit to Spokane’s economy, voters should support Proposition No. 1 in November’s election. 

The measure, if approved by voters, would give STA an opportunity to extend hours of bus service, add routes, build new transit centers, and start a bus rapid transit system through the city’s core. Because the tax increase would sunset at the end of 2028, the effort also would give STA about a decade to fulfill its commitments and show voters whether it’s a good steward of taxpayer money. 

The new measure calls for a 0.2-cent increase in sales tax within the area that STA serves, which is basically the Spokane metropolitan area. The increase would be phased in over time, with a 0.1-cent increase going into effect on April 1, 2017, and the other 0.1-cent rise kicking in on April 1, 2019. 

In the spring of 2015, STA proposed a 0.3-cent sales tax increase that would have gone into effect all at once, with no phase-in. The measure failed by just under 600 votes, out of 72,800 votes cast. 

Prior to the last election, the Journal gave STA’s measure a lukewarm endorsement, saying the benefits of the proposal outweighed the flaws. Then, though, we criticized the organization for not phasing in the increase or trying to make do with a smaller tax hike. By both sharpening its pencils and easing taxpayers into the increase, STA has made its proposal more palatable. And they’ve done so without eliminating projects from its original slate.

Of course, one can’t talk about STA’s proposal without bringing up the Central City Line, or Bus Rapid Transit. The six-mile city line would travel between the Browne’s Addition neighborhood to the west and the Spokane Community College campus to the east, moving through downtown Spokane and the University District. Previously, STA described the buses that would serve along the Central City Line as rubber-tired electric trolleys, though the organization likely is wishing now it had never used the word “trolley” in its description. 

Many opponents of the previous measure locked on to the Central City Line portion of the proposal—and the word trolley—as a focal point of their criticism, saying the line would be not only expensive to build, but also costly to maintain. 

Some of the concerns about the Central City Line are warranted, but the reality is that the proposal doesn’t require fixed rail lines, overhead electric lines, or any of the hard infrastructure that people associate with a trolley system, while providing some of the attributes associated with that mode of mass transit. Part of it would be funded by grant money, and it’s just one of 25 projects that STA plans to complete in the next 10 years. The ballot measure’s success or failure shouldn’t hinge on that one project.

We implored STA’s leaders to listen to taxpayers. By and large, it appears they have. They’ve earned our support—and the opportunity to win our trust.