Can America Accept Toll Roads?

Columnist Neal Peirce offers the hard truth about the economic realities of gas prices and road taxes.

1 minute read

October 10, 2005, 11:00 AM PDT

"The fact is, gas taxes exist for a reason: to pay for roads the public wants and expects. When gas taxes are cut, or lag in the face of inflation, it's not just roads that may suffer - schools, universities, medical programs and many more programs are potential losers. Already, by one analysis, roadway demands are gobbling up so much of our public revenue stream that gas taxes only cover 35 percent of the burden.

...Heaven forbid that the legislators' constituents should have to face the consequences of buying SUVs and other gas-guzzling heavy vehicles. Or face the perils of choosing homes in distant suburbs with long, long commutes. Or face the consequences of ignoring years of warnings about the nation's vulnerability to global energy cutoffs."

Thanks to transport-policy Listserv

FULL STORY: Is America really ready for toll roads?

Sunday, October 9, 2005 in Denver Post / Neal Peirce

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