10mo ago

The cost of maintaining roads is astronomical

Washington State Department of Transportation is starting to realize that we cannot afford to maintain the sheer volume of roads we build. The maintenance debt that we have built up is bankrupting our governments and it's only going to get worse year by year.

Civilization itself cannot afford to have so many car oriented roads long term.

https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_e69a80be-75f1-11ef-8b50-3babe18f06e9.html

9 comments

- Many countries have tied the vehicle tax to the 'weight' of the car. Most of them use power to determine the weight, but still.
  You could get taxed on traveled distance pdr year but the poses a problem with people who travel outside of the countries limits.
  Toll systems seem to be quite effective.
  
  Economists love toll systems because they’re essentially a use-tax: drive more, pay more.
  Unfortunately, they’re also a regressive tax. Poor people generally drive more because they can’t afford to live near their work/school/etc. So, the additional tax revenue is mostly extracted from the people who are the least capable of changing their behavior and have the least disposable income.
- I like it. Take my vote in your next election.
I bet they're so glad they let car companies bribe them into killing off trams eh
Washington's roads could degrade significantly and still be better than all its neighbors.
Wsdot will build an entire secret second carpool only interchange underneath another massive highway interchange and then end the carpool lanes immediately after.
Has anyone done a study to see if rail is cheaper to maintain than roads? Good public transport infrastructure would go a long way to preserving road conditions and keeping traffic lighter.

9 comments