Quote:
Originally Posted by aberdeen5698
Well, since recent bridges have seen revenue shortfalls that put the ability of tolls to eventually pay for them into doubt, maybe we should have a referendum to see if the public is willing to pay a 0.5% sales tax to fund these road improvements....? 
It puzzles me why people are willing to have the government spend a huge wad of their tax money to build new bridges which then have tolls slapped on them as opposed to just putting the tolls up in the first place and saving all that construction money. Particularly if the tolls are directed to a fund to finance road improvements down the line.
Of course I know the answer - people hate to actually see how much money being spent on this stuff comes right out of their own pocket. A toll or a 0.5% sales tax is a little too visible - a little too easy to see exactly how much you need to pay to get a benefit. Better to have all this stuff come from general revenue and be "hidden" behind a veil of secrecy.
"Ignorance is bliss" is a pretty stupid mindset, IMHO. |
Because I feel this "solution" is akin to simpy jacking up the price of a skytrain ticket to reduce overcrowding, instead of actually improving infrastructure.
Also many of these structures need to be replaced for other reasons (safety, age, poor designs, shipping, etc...) not just to expand car capacity. The GMT and Patullo are perfect examples of this.
Now, I would support tolling all bridges (maybe around 1 dollar to 1.50 a crossing) if that came with a bundle plan to replace the GMT, Patullo, and a new third crossing to the North Shore coincinding with the general traffic closure of the Lions Gate.
And just because the province fucked up with a stupid referendum for the transit tax, doesn`t mean roads should also suffer the same outcome. Instead, we should bring Transit funding up to how roads are funded, not bring road funding down.
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