Designing a plan that’s equitable and effective is a challenge, but an even bigger one may be simply coming up with anything that voters will support. The only U.S. city so far poised to implement congestion pricing, New York, has a population density and a mass transit system in the European league, leaving Seattle’s in the dust; it also suffers from gridlock and transit infrastructure woes (which revenue from a pricing scheme can address) that are orders of magnitude worse than ours. There’s reason to fear that without a great leap forward in noncar travel options — especially public transit — congestion pricing in Seattle may end up being too heavy a political lift.

If Durkan is serious about overcoming this obstacle to her big idea, her record so far doesn’t show it. No doubt the mayor inherited some real difficulties, but a series of major setbacks has given advocates good reason to be frustrated. Overoptimistic budgeting and a highly competitive construction market left the Move Seattle levy far short of delivering on all its promises of transit, bike and pedestrian infrastructure. The mayor reacted by walking back these promises, reassessing what levy funds can build and trying to recalibrate public expectations. As a result, plans for seven RapidRide bus lines have been delayed or shelved and crucial connections in the planned citywide bike network have been left unfunded. Other mayoral actions, like pulling the plug on 35th Avenue Northeast bike lanes, have left many people questioning her commitment to transcending car culture, or even to prioritizing safety over the loud voices of some neighbors and businesses.

Fiscal responsibility is important, but it doesn’t constitute a vision for the transportation system Seattle actually needs to meet our climate, safety and mobility goals. Vision in hand, we can be realistic and smart about prioritizing existing resources, and then figure out what additional funds are needed and how to raise them. Incidentally, an inspiring overall vision, and the will to explain and build support for that vision, are also what’s needed to overcome many of the neighborhood-level conflicts that can sink good projects.