Should the Michigan Gas Tax be raised?

[aowwt]

Yeah I was not sure if Rockford and the GVSU area will need Interstate help. I do know that I messed up on M6. That is not green but should be solid Blue the same for some of the other highways. I just should have changed the shield. Oh well. I do think that the future realignment of US 31 with a freeway will help things. I am just not sure if it will be enough to support GVSU. As for us not being able to support I think you are correct if we are not expanding which hey we arent. But as we expand as an area and hopefully as a state we will need more routes for trucks to get from point A to point B with less distrubance to local main street roads.

[fotoman311]

BTW does anybody have any comments about my design work. If you do just let me know. I know a handful of you guys have seen it.

[aowwt]

Well this is not like say we need these right this minute, well some we do but most we do not. The I 98 is just a border interstate that may in the future may be needed. If say we do a lot of trucking up there it would keep the cities up there from having there local roads get destroyed every few years. The amount of trucking is what matters. The more trucking you get per day means more roads getting destroyed. Personally I do not think in the next 10 years I 98 would be needed. But in 30 to 50 years I could see it being needed. Of course thats dependent if some other technology doesnt appear first. (can you say transporters of star trek?)

[witulski]

Oh, the first map is a map of new interstate highways. Well! In that case, I love it! That Interstate 65 would probably knock about a half-hour off my drive. Now just make 98 share 75 down to Indian River and then shoot east to RC. If only!

I do mainly agree with a moderate change in gas tax structure to support roads & matching funds, but when I see people talk about wanting to keep gas prices at $4-5 a gallon just to put a burden on driving, I've just gotta take the other side.

Also, I fully realize that the world's binge on oil is not going to last, but I do believe something will emerge to take its place and keep personal transportation possible.

As for transit, though I agree it needs funding, I do kinda dislike a gas tax that makes rural folks pay for projects they'll never see. It may be true that some people drive less in smaller towns, but it's also not uncommon to see daily 90-mile commutes like my dad does every day to Alpena to run the family auto glass shop, where they have to do jobs in several counties each day because you've got to have a large coverage area to stay busy in the sparsely populated North. When it comes to people like this, raising their gas prices so we can have a streetcar in Grand Rapids seems a little unfair to me, especially since I know they'll never see any of that transit budget put to use up there. Even aowwt's *very* ambitious rail plan stops dead north of Alpena. (I do like I-98 though, I bet the Michigan Tech kids would really appreciate that.)

[Rizzo]

Oh, the first map is a map of new interstate highways. Well! In that case, I love it! That Interstate 65 would probably knock about a half-hour off my drive. Now just make 98 share 75 down to Indian River and then shoot east to RC. If only!

I do mainly agree with a moderate change in gas tax structure to support roads & matching funds, but when I see people talk about wanting to keep gas prices at $4-5 a gallon just to put a burden on driving, I've just gotta take the other side.

Also, I fully realize that the world's binge on oil is not going to last, but I do believe something will emerge to take its place and keep personal transportation possible.

As for transit, though I agree it needs funding, I do kinda dislike a gas tax that makes rural folks pay for projects they'll never see. It may be true that some people drive less in smaller towns, but it's also not uncommon to see daily 90-mile commutes like my dad does every day to Alpena to run the family auto glass shop, where they have to do jobs in several counties each day because you've got to have a large coverage area to stay busy in the sparsely populated North. When it comes to people like this, raising their gas prices so we can have a streetcar in Grand Rapids seems a little unfair to me, especially since I know they'll never see any of that transit budget put to use up there. Even aowwt's *very* ambitious rail plan stops dead north of Alpena. (I do like I-98 though, I bet the Michigan Tech kids would really appreciate that.)

[jbr12]

As for transit, though I agree it needs funding, I do kinda dislike a gas tax that makes rural folks pay for projects they'll never see. It may be true that some people drive less in smaller towns, but it's also not uncommon to see daily 90-mile commutes like my dad does every day to Alpena to run the family auto glass shop, where they have to do jobs in several counties each day because you've got to have a large coverage area to stay busy in the sparsely populated North. When it comes to people like this, raising their gas prices so we can have a streetcar in Grand Rapids seems a little unfair to me, especially since I know they'll never see any of that transit budget put to use up there. Even aowwt's *very* ambitious rail plan stops dead north of Alpena. (I do like I-98 though, I bet the Michigan Tech kids would really appreciate that.)

[witulski]

How is it any different then making those same rural folks chip in on the interstate mess surrounding Detroit??

There is a key mind block when it comes to this topic. People are fine paying for roads they'll never use, but they can't get their minds around paying for a transit system that they wouldn't use...

[walker]

As for transit, though I agree it needs funding, I do kinda dislike a gas tax that makes rural folks pay for projects they'll never see. It may be true that some people drive less in smaller towns, but it's also not uncommon to see daily 90-mile commutes like my dad does every day to Alpena to run the family auto glass shop, where they have to do jobs in several counties each day because you've got to have a large coverage area to stay busy in the sparsely populated North. When it comes to people like this, raising their gas prices so we can have a streetcar in Grand Rapids seems a little unfair to me, especially since I know they'll never see any of that transit budget put to use up there. Even aowwt's *very* ambitious rail plan stops dead north of Alpena. (I do like I-98 though, I bet the Michigan Tech kids would really appreciate that.)

[witulski]

Good point - I later wondered if that might be the case (since indeed it's not uncommon for urban areas to subsidize rural areas), but wasn't able to find any distribution figures. Great link! Not a bad argument to use when this comes up (as a Northerner and a downstater, I often find myself on both sides on these issues).

But it seems to me that rural areas are hit hardest when gas prices increase - in fact here's an article: Rural drivers feeling rise in gas prices more than their urban counterparts (Mind you, this kid would do well to trade his f-250 in for a Civic, but hey, maybe he needs to haul a lot of stuff...)

As a rural driver, Stammen is part of the demographic that has felt the biggest financial squeeze from rising gas prices. A study released earlier this month by the Consumer Federation of America shows that rural households drive 15 percent more miles and spend 20 percent more on gas than their counterparts in metropolitan areas.

[AlexPKeaton]

Also, I fully realize that the world's binge on oil is not going to last, but I do believe something will emerge to take its place and keep personal transportation possible.

[GRDadof3]

Kind of a "duh" on this one, but Gas tax plan, higher registration fees have support of local transit advocates