After 30 years of government studies of a regional transportation system, an influential private-sector group is set to unveil its own plan that includes commuter rail and even toll lanes added to local interstate highways.
The proposed toll lanes are meant to help fund other segments of the transportation plan, including a commuter rail in the northeast. But tolls won't pay for the whole package.
As Chris O'Malley reports, "...a potentially controversial component of the plan is a local option sales tax that could cost residential taxpayers an extra $180 a year to help fund a system estimated to cost $6.7 billion.
That's likely to be a tough sell in a region already weary of paying for sports stadiums and, despite growing congestion, not yet suffering world-class gridlock."
Thanks to Justin Stuehrenberg
Read the full story: Task Force Endorses Regional Taxes for Transit
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