Oregon Public Broadcasting

Washington state voters have rejected a transportation measure sponsored by initiative activist Tim Eyman.

The initiative would have opened car pool and bus lanes to all cars during off-peak hours.

Eyman maintained that would ease congestion. As he watched the vote totals stream in, Eyman said he still believes Washington voters want a change in transportation policy.

Tim Eyman: "They might not have liked the approach that we were taking. But there’s no doubt that there was no endorsement of the status quo as a result of this election. But the neat thing about the initiative process is that you win no matter what the vote total is, because you’re able to have a debate. You can put the spotlight on this particular issue of transportation."

Opponents of I-985 argued that the measure would have made traffic worse and sent transportation dollars to more urban areas, at the expense of rural parts of Washington state.