Bremerton’s streets will suffer

The voters have spoken and voted down Bremerton Transportation Proposition 1, the proposed $30 annual vehicle fee that would have gone toward repairing Bremerton’s broken streets.

Our streets will remain in their dilapidated state until further notice. In the second round of updated voting numbers released Wednesday evening, an overwhelming 69 percent of voters opposed the measure.

These streets aren’t going to fix themselves and don’t expect the city or state, with their budgets drowning in the red, to repair our roads anytime soon. As pessimistic as it sounds, it’s the truth. It was up to Bremerton voters to say whether or not they cared enough about the roads they travel on in the city.

The fact that voters turned down this measure is a sure sign of the times. It definitely is a tough market, but there is a fine line between a down economy and voter apathy. How close are we to treading on that line, really? At only $30 a year to fix something many use each and every day, it’s disheartening to see it isn’t at the top of the priority list. It wasn’t too long ago drivers were shelling out much more for their vehicle tabs. We should be more than willing to pay a mere $30 for our roads compared to fees of yesteryear. While it’s easy to forget we once paid much more, our roads will serve as a constant reminder in the future of the choice to turn down the $30 annual vehicle fee.