"It's troubling that state officials ever thought it was a smart idea to burden Louisiana citizens."
EDITORIAL:
Highway robbery
August 14, 2006
The Times Picayune (New Orleans)
Copyright 2006
Louisiana residents are struggling with the expense and inconvenience of post-Katrina life; squeezing them for money when they got onto the interstate would have made matters even worse.
But that's what the Blanco administration sought permission to do. Johnny Bradberry, secretary of the state Department of Transportation and Development, wrote a letter to the Federal Highway Administration's operations office in March asking for permission to convert 400 miles of Interstates 10 and 12 into toll roads.
Mr. Bradberry described the idea as a pilot program to raise money for highway construction without raising gasoline prices. The letter was just a first step in a lengthy application process, he said, and the state was trying to "keep the door open."
The door needed to be slammed shut, though, and Gov. Blanco finally did so, announcing Friday that the plan was dead. That's a relief, but it's troubling that state officials ever thought it was a smart idea to burden Louisiana citizens -- especially those recovering from Hurricane Katrina.
Sen. David Vitter -- a vocal critic of the plan -- said that he would oppose any tolls on existing roadways like I-10 and I-12, and that's a legitimate position. Those roads were built with federal tax dollars; subjecting them to tolls would have forced drivers to pay for them twice.
It was even worse, though, to contemplate tolls now, when many people are traveling between their jobs, their temporary homes and their flood-damaged property.
In his letter to the feds, Mr. Bradberry called the tolls "essential to the economic recovery of the state and to better prepare for future events." But many storm victims are paying rent as well as a mortgage, and they're certainly paying plenty for gasoline. Adding tolls could hamper their ability to recover and, by extension, hurt the economy's recovery.
Making life more difficult and expensive for Louisiana residents isn't the way to improve the highway system, and it's certainly no way to drive a recovery. The Blanco administration should have recognized that back in March; at least they've dropped the idea now.
© 2006 NOLA.com : www.nola.com
Highway robbery
August 14, 2006
The Times Picayune (New Orleans)
Copyright 2006
Louisiana residents are struggling with the expense and inconvenience of post-Katrina life; squeezing them for money when they got onto the interstate would have made matters even worse.
But that's what the Blanco administration sought permission to do. Johnny Bradberry, secretary of the state Department of Transportation and Development, wrote a letter to the Federal Highway Administration's operations office in March asking for permission to convert 400 miles of Interstates 10 and 12 into toll roads.
Mr. Bradberry described the idea as a pilot program to raise money for highway construction without raising gasoline prices. The letter was just a first step in a lengthy application process, he said, and the state was trying to "keep the door open."
The door needed to be slammed shut, though, and Gov. Blanco finally did so, announcing Friday that the plan was dead. That's a relief, but it's troubling that state officials ever thought it was a smart idea to burden Louisiana citizens -- especially those recovering from Hurricane Katrina.
Sen. David Vitter -- a vocal critic of the plan -- said that he would oppose any tolls on existing roadways like I-10 and I-12, and that's a legitimate position. Those roads were built with federal tax dollars; subjecting them to tolls would have forced drivers to pay for them twice.
It was even worse, though, to contemplate tolls now, when many people are traveling between their jobs, their temporary homes and their flood-damaged property.
In his letter to the feds, Mr. Bradberry called the tolls "essential to the economic recovery of the state and to better prepare for future events." But many storm victims are paying rent as well as a mortgage, and they're certainly paying plenty for gasoline. Adding tolls could hamper their ability to recover and, by extension, hurt the economy's recovery.
Making life more difficult and expensive for Louisiana residents isn't the way to improve the highway system, and it's certainly no way to drive a recovery. The Blanco administration should have recognized that back in March; at least they've dropped the idea now.
© 2006 NOLA.com :
posted by Porkus Maximus Tex: at Monday, August 14, 2006
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