Re: "We car drivers do pay gas taxes"
See "Do Roads Pay For Themselves? Setting the Record Straight on Transportation Funding" By the US Public Interest Research Group http://www.wispirg.org/home/reports/report-archives/transportation-reports/tr ansportation/do-roads-pay-for-themselves and also some discussion of it in Grist : "Do Roads Pay for Themselves? Well, No." http://www.grist.org/article/2011-01-04-do-roads-pay-for-themselves-well-no chuck ________________________________ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Robbie Webber Sent: Monday, April 25, 2011 10:11 AM To: Mary Mullen Cc: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Bikies] Capital City Trail to Cottage Grove First, let's not pile on Larry Nelson (retired City Engineer for the City of Madison, for those who don't know) about a trail pass requirement for trails outside the City. Madison does not charge for use of their paths and trails. The link we are talking about here - from the Interstate to Cottage Grove - will likely be under the administration of Dane County. Although we can debate whether bicyclists should have to pay for the trails when we travel about by bike, since we do not have toll roads in Wisconsin, saying that, "We car drivers pay gas taxes," dos not help the argument about trail fees. 1. With few exceptions, such as Tim, most bicyclists also own cars, so we bicyclists pay gas taxes as well. We do not allocate space on the road based on how much each of us pays in gas tax. A fuel efficient car driven only 5000 miles per year gets the same access to the road as a hulking, gas-guzzling F-150 driven every day 100 miles round trip. 2. Most of the roads we drive on, and almost 100% of the roads we bike on, are local roads - not interstates or state roads, and even few major county roads. Why does that make a difference? Because very little gas tax money goes to local roads. These are paid for almost 100% by property taxes. And I can assure you that I pay plenty of property taxes. However, people driving in from Mt Horeb, Dodgeville, Sun Prairie, or Sauk City do not pay local property taxes, and yet they get to drive on our roads. 3. Even when you include ALL roads, even those big interstates and expensive urban interchanges, only 40% of road costs in Wisconsin are paid for by user fees - that is gas taxes, plus car licensing and registration. Remember, we don't have tolls in Wisconsin, except on non-motorized paths. The rest is made up by property taxes, income taxes, and sales taxes. For more on how roads are funded in Wisconsin, see the excellent briefing booklet from 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, "Exceeding the Limit." http://www.scribd.com/doc/19750837/Exceeding-the-Limit And recently, even the federal government has been using "general revenue," that is sources other than the gas tax. Until recently, the feds had always used only user fees, but our appetite for roads got too big, and no Senator or Representative is willing to turn off the tap for projects when the money runs out, so we have started tapping the general revenue stream - your federal taxes - whether you drive or own a car or not. So, while I understand the need of the DNR to get funds to pay for their trails - I serve as the bicycle representative on the DNR-staffed Governor's State Trails Council - I think it is kind of disingenuous to think car drivers are paying their way, and bicyclists are not. Also, I don't notice much appetite in state government to suggest a modest $15/year additional fee on car registration, or an increase in the state gas tax. As a matter of fact, the federal gas tax has remained the same since 1993! More on the funding of transportation at the federal level here: http://frontporchcoffeetalk.blogspot.com/2011/04/raise-federal-gas-tax.html And one final reminder: Dane County had/has a program that allows bicyclists that use the Cap City Trail (and presumably the new piece of the Glacial Drumlin Trail, when it is built) principally for transportation to apply for a commuter pass - a free state trail pass, so you don't have to pay a separate fee to go to work, shopping, or visit friends - just like the rest of the road users. Perhaps a useful activity for those concerned about the trail fee in Dane County would be to contact new Co Exec Joe Parisi to urge him to continue this program. http://www.countyofdane.com/pwht/pdf/hw/capitalstatetrail-380-162.pdf Robbie Webber On Mon, Apr 25, 2011 at 8:54 AM, Mary Mullen <[email protected]> wrote: We car drivers do pay gas taxes. On 4/25/11 1:39 AM, "tim wong" <[email protected]> wrote: and Larry, remind me once again: why is it good public policy to charge tolls for riding a non-polluting bicycle when heavily polluting cars and trucks drive for free?
_______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
