Tacoma Narrows tolls: Good policy or Big Brother?

June 18th, 2007
The toll-collection system on the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge will store data on individual crossings for eight and a half years, and the information could be used in criminal or civil lawsuits, according to this report. Alarmed? Consider a similar program in San Francisco:
The FasTrak program, which allows drivers to cross eight bridges in the Bay Area, has restrictions like the Narrows bridge toll operation: Information can be released only to police and by court order. That’s happened 17 times in the past two years, said Rod McMillan, director of bridge operations and oversight for FasTrak. To ...

Group Forms to Fight Light Rail

June 8th, 2007
Take a look at the information provided by guys with transportation and planning PHDs at truthabouttraffic.org. They report that the projected share of light rail trips by 2030 will only be 1.3% (assuming we approve the vote)! For this Sound Transit want us to spend HALF of our transportation tax dollars? Read the Seattle Times article: "As the campaign season approaches on a transportation ballot measure, an advocacy group called the Washington Traffic Institute has formed to oppose Sound Transit's plans to expand light rail."

Charlotte to Revote on Light Rail

June 7th, 2007
Angry taxpayers raised enough money to collect tens of thousands of signatures to put a transit tax back on the ballot in Charlotte, NC. Charlotte-area voters had approved a half-cent tax to support light-rail construction in 1998. But cost overruns made the project controversial, and opponents want to stop the transit agency from beginning construction [...]

TriMet Wants Another Tax Increase

June 4th, 2007
Portland’s transit agency, TriMet, “knows the key to increasing ridership is offering more frequent bus service.” But, guess what, the agency is devoting all of its resources to building rail lines that hardly anyone will ride. So the only way it will actually be able to increase ridership is to get a tax increase. Portlanders voted [...]