By almost a two-to-one margin, the $50 vehicle registration fee proposed by Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization was failing as of midnight Tuesday.

The annual fee intended to fund road improvements across the region for the next 20 years by making Kootenai County more eligible for federal funding opportunities. However, for many residents, the $50 extra for each of those 20 years was too much for financing the 12 proposed projects.

"We gave the residents of Kootenai County an opportunity to decide whether or not they wanted to address traffic congestion, and they've selected not to," said Glenn Miles, KMPO's executive director. "I respect their wishes."

Miles began presenting the ballot measure in the summer after receiving approval from the Board of County Commissioners. Through the influence of local jurisdictions and community groups, KMPO designed the fee to update the county's legacy transportation system, which hasn't seen significant improvements since the 1960s.

After a massive 340% rise in the county population since that time, Miles has said the roadways are already experiencing problems that will only worsen in the years to come. However, as the votes came in Tuesday night, he was satisfied seeing this chapter come to a close.

"I'm comfortable that it's coming to a conclusion," Miles said. "I think the group that put together the campaign did a great job. It's a tough subject, it's a tough conversation, and it's tough asking people to pay for something they use every day."

Without the stimulated funding from the fee and nationally competitive grants, KMPO, the Idaho Transportation Department, and Kootenai County Citizens for Traffic Relief say the problems will become much larger and more expensive for the region's 150,000 vehicles.

"We see what the population growth is doing to the county. It's more traffic and more congestion," Miles said. "The delays and at intersections and highways and arterials will be more and more a part of life."

Had the measure been approved, KMPO planned to:

• Expand I-90 from State Line to Sherman Avenue
• Build the Huetter ByPass from I-90 to U.S. 95 and State Highway 53 interchange.
• Relocate the I-90 Port of Entry
• Construct a regional traffic management center for ITD
• Widen the U.S. 95 Spokane River Bridge
• Improvements to Hayden Avenue and U.S. 95 to Huetter Bypass
• Pleasant View Road and Seltice Way to State Highway 53
• Prairie Road and Meyer Road to State Highway 41
• Atlas Road improvements from Seltice Way to Hanley
• Pole Line State Highway 41 to Huetter
• Julia I-90 Overpass Ironwood to Appleway
• Build an Underpass for the State Highway 54 Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF rail lines Athol

"I think working with the public over the last two years, listening to their concerns and trying to respond to what people want has been good," Miles said. "Now we will start planning for more congestion and more delays and let people know what they're going to have to deal with in the not so distant future."