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Paying to Use Our FREEways |
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Voice from the Cheap Seats
By Charles Tarlow
It is the best of times, it is the worst of times, but more importantly, it is the right time … right now … that will determine if our children will live in good times or bad. And yes ... I am going to talk some more about “Congestion Pricing” … charging people to drive in the car pool lanes.
My critics seem to think I am naive for rejecting the idea of making people pay to use the public infrastructure. It is, they say, a great way to raise money to address the ongoing costs of roads and can be used for alternative transportation as well.
It could also be said that toll roads make sense because it forces the very people who use the roads to pay for them. And finally, I am criticized for promoting class warfare by presenting the argument that the rich will be unaffected by tolls and fees while the working poor will have to think twice about whether they can afford to have private transportation.
My friends, let us not get lost in the details. The State and City governments have traditionally taken responsibility for our roads and highways. Diamond lanes were set aside specifically to encourage ride sharing and our cities managed zoning and required businesses and homes to provide adequate parking. All this was done to benefit all the people. Congestion Pricing has very little to do with “all the people” and everything to do with “some of the people”.
My objections to Congestion Pricing transcend any short term benefits that may or may not be realized if the CP proponents get their way. I fear that Congestion Pricing is part of a sea change in America; a reallocation of resources to those who can afford to pay with little or no regard for those who can't.
I am not promoting class warfare. I am trying to avoid it. In fact I am suggesting that we should ignore economic status when it comes to roads, highways, diamond lanes, and parking. Everyone should have equal access. Congestion Pricing makes money the great divider. If you have it ... you are golden. If you don't ... you are screwed.
And let's be real for a moment. The goal of Congestion Pricing is painfully obvious. The proponents of this scheme want to FORCE people out of their cars. By people, I don't mean them ... that would be crazy. By people, I mean people other than them. People who actually have to worry about what it costs to go to work, go shopping and pickup the kids.
This isn't as much about toll roads and parking fees as it is about quality of life. Congestion Pricing is an assault on the quality of life in our cities. If the decision makers in Los Angeles, our Mayor and our City Councilmen, had to take public transportation, Congestion Pricing wouldn't even be in the public discourse. We would be talking about mass transit and how we are going to pay for it.
In the end, that is what we should be talking about: Mass transit. It's the only long term answer to the city's gridlock. It is the only true solution; and not just for the rich ... for everyone. (Charles Tarlow is a community activist and a member of a neighborhood council in the mid-city area. Tarlow is a regular contributor to CityWatch. He can be reached at:
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CityWatch
Volume 6 Issue 26
Published: March28, 2008
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