The gas tax is becoming an increasingly outdated and unsustainable idea. This piece from Miller McCune looks at the prospect of replacing it with a tax based on vehicle miles traveled.
"What's needed now is not a higher gas tax, but a whole new way of looking at how we pay our fair share for using public roads. The report's authors home in on what has become the consensus favorite solution of transportation wonks. We shouldn't fill road coffers according to how much gas we buy, but how many miles we drive.
The gas tax has ceased to function in the way it was originally intended - as a user fee (by sparing us their tail-pipe emissions, this means those 50-mile-per-gallon Prius drivers are also not really paying for their full use of common roads). Today, the most accurate measure of use is what's known as Vehicle Miles Traveled."
Some argue that the success of variably-priced vehicle tolling is a sign that charging by the mile would not be a political bomb.
Read the full story: Miles Not Gallons Could Be Key to Road Upkeep
California Poised to Lose Up to $4 Billion in Gas Tax Revenue
States must find other ways to fund transportation projects as the transportation sector moves toward decarbonization.
Can State Lawmakers Make the Case for Road Charges?
More state legislatures are considering fees based on vehicle miles traveled as a replacement for declining gas tax revenues.
San Diego County Weighs VMT Proposal
San Diego County could tax developers based on projected vehicle miles traveled as part of a new CEQA requirement that replaces Level of Service with VMT.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO resigns after $600,000 scandal
Under Ian Choudri, the authority used taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights and trips to nightclubs.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority