While I agree with much of what is being said about a new roadway user fee and I think this could be a good idea - if WisDOT and the state figure out that they need to stop building highways we don't need. Data from multiple credible sources shows a decline in vehicle miles traveled in this state, not to mention the country. There are only a few places that count as congested in WI - most of which could be fixed with appropriate mass transit funding. A per-mile charge in Wisconsin should focus on asset management and fixing what we have first while also helping to fund more sustainable transportation options like transit, which will help manage travel demand. As it is currently framed, this new fee is nothing more than a handout to the roadbuilders association - a major contributor to Walker's campaign. I am in favor of VMT, if done thoughtfully. But not until we get our house in order and start investing in transportation we need not in transportation a few profit from and the public pays for for years to come.And who cares about already committed construction contracts? This administration has already set a very strong precedent in cancelling the already committed contracts for high speed rail.
On Fri, Sep 28, 2012 at 9:41 AM, Richard Schwinn <[email protected] > wrote: > Gas taxes have never paid for the roads. Our property taxes, state > taxes and some special federal grants make up the bulk - 75% - of the > funding for roads. A gasoline tax remains a fair system. Lighter, more > fuel efficient vehicles put less stress on the road system, as does reduced > driving. The problem is that we don't have a high enough gas tax to cover > the costs associated with our over-dependence on cars. It doesn't cover > the cost of road or infrastructure, and it doesn't cover the cost of > military forces used to keep gasoline flowing freely. Total up these > costs and we're talking $3-4 per gallon. > > Yes, the car people would say the taxing to actually cover the costs of > driving would dramatically reduce driving and so on. But don't our > politicians don't cry the same way about other forms of transportation. > They begrudge our passenger rail system $5-10 billion and they begrudge > bikes a billion for infrastructure, but have no problem spending $2-300 > billion for an army in the Middle East. That's smart economics, hub? > > > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org > >
_______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
