Registerguard editorial
The Oregon Department of Transportation is considering allowing private companies to build highways and recover their investments by collecting toll.
Odot is evaluating proposals for privately built highways or added freeway lanes in for Portland area location.
The 2003 Legislature and Governor Ted Kulongoski approved the private-public partnership, finding little support for higher gasoline taxes to finance the expansion of the state increasingly congested highway network.
The private projects, such as a widening of the Interstate 205 freeway or the construction of a bypass around Newberg and Dundee, would be financed by tolls. The companies might also receive development rights in exchange for building the roads.
Oregon's highway network has been toll-free-construction, maintenance has been financed entirely by the gasoline tax, and the way to mild tax paid by heavy trucks.
I would like to remind people about Odot's plan to have a GPS system in every car to collect a per mile tax whose fees will vary depending on the location and time of day, and this will also include toll fees.
The tax becomes payable when you fill up at the pump.
Every time that the state comes up with a new method to collect money from us along with new fees to make travel more expensive, it's not only affects the price of our community, but it also affects the prices services and goods.
1 comment:
Of course, if ODOT stopped spending most of their resources on asinine projects like more bike paths, mass transit systems that few people will use, etc., then they would suddenly be able to actuall do what they should do, i.e., build and maintain ROADS for CARS.
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