We need to plan for the future today!
An economy is defined by four things: The movements of goods, people, information, and capital. A 21st century economy cannot rely upon the infrastructure of the last century. If the infrastructure stagnates then the economy stagnates.
Kitsap county (heck, every community on Earth for that matter) needs to start planning for what we are going to do when fuel prices reach $10 a gallon or more. We need to start constructing light rail to move our 300,000 residents around without the use of an automobile. Rail lines from the Bainbridge ferry to Tacoma, connecting Suquamish, Poulsbo, Silverdale, Bremerton, Port Orchard and Gig Harbor along the way are needed. Including a way to get shipyard workers from Belfair to the yard in Bremerton (anyone who has been in downtown Bremerton knows what a traffic nightmare shift change at the yard can be; couple that with the ferry getting out, and yikes!).
A project like this is expensive, but you do you know what is more expensive? Building it when gas does cost $10 a gallon!
We have options. Our neighbors in Port Angeles have a little company called LevX that designs mag-lev trains that require little energy and are relatively inexpensive to build. We can’t wait for someone to do these things for us. To be great, we must do great things!
