As I was web surfing tonight I noticed that Minnesota 20/20 has done a report on road safety. A survey of Minnesota's County Highway Engineers has brought some interesting facts about the roads and bridges in our state , such as:
- Nearly three-quarters of county engineers surveyed say the roads and bridges they maintain have deteriorated in the past decade as costs and traffic demands have risen while state support has stagnated.
- The falloff in county road and bridge quality and safety has persisted despite a doubling of local property taxes dedicated to roads and bridges in 10 years, to an estimated $1.6 billion in 2006
- 4% of county engineers surveyed say they have even returned 20th century paved roads to 19th century style gravel or dirt roads
- New state-level road and bridge financing enacted this year over Gov. Tim Pawlenty's veto will ease the situation somewhat, but "not enough to make a real difference." More than 92 percent of county engineers surveyed said the revenue increases won't allow them to meet their transportation goals.
County engineers that responded to the survey stated in their recommendations that, the state should adopt recommendations of the Minnesota County Engineers Association, particularly:
• Inflation indexing of the gasoline tax, which lost nearly half its buying power in the 20 years between the two most recent increases.
• Authority for counties to levy annual wheelage taxes of up to $20 per vehicle for roads and bridges.
• Some form of road impact fees to defray a fair share of the actual costs of real estate development
and heavier truck traffic on county roads.
• Increased state general obligation bonding to repair or replace aging local bridges.
In a Poll taken of the county engineers when asked what strategies they used to meet road and bridge funding challenges
70% said they had to increase property taxes. But the number that really jumped out at me was that 44% of county engineers stated that that they had cut snowplowing and other maintenance efforts because of lack of funding.
That is not right! We are talking about public safety here, yours , mine, our children and our grandchildren safety. Yes we need to find ways to keep our roads safe but cutting maintenance and snow plowing is NOT the way to go.
1 comment:
Don't be shocked, as I keep hearing some of these same stories too frequently. But something must be done.
The next President will face an economic challenge and will no doubt submit an economic stimulus package.
Hopefully, President Obama’s National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank will be part of the package. It will expand and enhance, not supplant, existing federal transportation investments. This independent entity will be directed to invest in our nation’s most challenging transportation infrastructure needs. The Bank will receive an infusion of federal money, $60 billion over 10 years, to provide financing to transportation infrastructure projects across the nation. These projects will create up to two million new direct and indirect jobs per year and stimulate approximately $35 billion per year in new economic activity.
President McCain on the other hand will eliminate earmarks and cut spending.
And in 2009, when the next Congress convenes, there is a bigger problem. The Highway Trust Fund (HTF) is projected to have a deficit of as much as $5 billion. As a result of how highway projects are funded, this could mean a one-third reduction of highway and transit spending. That deficit will be compounded even more as the cost of gasoline has resulted in a drop in miles traveled … the driving mileage drop has only exacerbated a problem, not created it. The HTF is funded almost exclusively by the 18.3 cents per gallon taxes paid on gasoline and 24.8 cents per gallon tax on diesel by the nation’s drivers and truckers.
Will the Minnesota delegation have members that make sure Minnesota can attract and maintain businesses.
Some candidates have agendas that may be more ideology than good governance.
Will First District voters pick Dr. Brian Davis ?
Will Second District voters pick John Kline ?
This is an important election for many reasons, but at the top must be investing our tax dollars wisely and ensuring that Tax Fairness for all citizens.
For me the choice between Tony Cornish and John Branstad in 24-B is easy.
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