Clearly, area politicians and South Valley residents must reject
the idea of using toll roads to finance much-needed road
improvements. Senate Bill 561 is making its way through the state
legislature would make it easier for transportation agencies like
the VTA to contract with private companies to create toll
roads.
Clearly, area politicians and South Valley residents must reject the idea of using toll roads to finance much-needed road improvements. Senate Bill 561 is making its way through the state legislature would make it easier for transportation agencies like the VTA to contract with private companies to create toll roads.
VTA officials are saying private financing will be needed to link Interstate 5 with Highway 101, and for improvements to 101 and Highway 25 and Highway 156, according to a recent article by reporter Matt King.
That’s disturbing, given that a large portion of our tax dollars that is supposed to be used for road improvements ends up being spent on other projects, such as stemming the tide of state red ink caused by legislators who don’t know how to live within a budget.
We pay gasoline taxes for road improvements, we tax ourselves with proposals like Measures A and B, and a significant portion of our federal tax dollars are supposed to go to road improvement projects. But, somehow, California politicians and bureaucrats can’t get the job done, even with these multiple sources of revenue, and now want to quadruple tax us for roads by adding tolls.
Enough!
This tax will unfairly impact the poor, who often must live far away from Silicon Valley jobs in order to afford a decent home. Now, in addition to wear and tear on their cars, high fuel bills, and the stress of a long commute, officials want to add the extra burden of road tolls.
In South County, especially, this proposal adds insult to injury. We already receive inadequate, sub-par public transportation services. People like San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales have proposed, with significant support, cutting projects from the Measure A/B list that would benefit South County in order to pay for the BART-to-San Jose extension boondoggle. Now, officials want to make it easier to build toll roads.
It’s unconscionable.
In Orange and Riverside counties, new toll roads have fees that range from $1.50 to $7.75. Can you imagine the burden twice-daily tolls like those will be for folks of average means, let alone those truly struggling to make ends meet?
Maintaining a safe and adequate road system is one of the basic jobs of government. We provide our officials plenty of money to do the job, if they would set priorities, make tough decisions to cut perks, fat, commissions, and other forms of waste rife in the state government.
