[MitchellC]

The editors of the News & Observer think we ought to (surprise!) raise the gas tax.

The 21st Century panel deserves credit for trying, but it would probably be better to let the lid on the state gas tax expire (as it's scheduled to next year) and, if necessary, raise the tax. The feds could do the same.

The obvious alternatives -- toll roads, higher registration fees -- wouldn't be popular either. A one-time bond issue for roads and mass transit might pass, but construction needs are never-ending. Fuel taxes are essentially a user fee -- for the roads all of us use and for the modern transit options the future will demand.

I'd prefer we actually use the money set aside for transportation on transportation (the roads, to be more precise) and actually work on the roads that need to be worked on (like finishing and expanding the I-485 loop around Charlotte that sees daily traffic in the hundreds of thousands, instead of fast-tracking - or even building in the first place - a loop around Fayetteville that sees daily traffic in the thousands).

NC *Ping*

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[Tax-chick]

We have plenty of revenue for the roads. The thugs in Raleigh just have to stop stealing it! Or the equivalent, spending it on bridges and roads that go nowhere except to a piece of woodland that just happens - who’da thunkit? - to belong to a State Senator who was just - coincidentally - planning to sell the timber off this year ...

Buncha creeps. The Russian Solution - tanks and rocket launchers - might work in Raleigh ...

[Tai_Chung]

They haven’t finished 485 in Charlotte?

I moved to Charlotte in 1994 and they were building 485. I moved away in 2004 and it wasn’t finished.

Why must it take a generation to build a loop around the city? Here in Kansas, roads are built quickly.

[wolfpat]

They ought to have enough roads by now. If they are really serious (harrumph) about mass transit, they would stop expanding these monstrosities.

I only use mass transit during the State Fair. For me, it’s most convenient to park at the Cary Soccer Park, and ride the bus to the Fairgrounds. Fair traffic makes this practical.

If it were this much of a pain in the a$$ to drive to work, then buses or light rail would be economically feasible.