Road whims

[question everything]

The Press-Enterprise

California transportation spending has ground to a halt, and so will California drivers unless they find local money to keep their roads functional... It's longstanding practice for local transportation dollars to help leverage state road money. But with California mired in a years-long budget crisis, local transportation money may provide the only fuel left for road improvements.

In recent years, the governor and Legislature have found it easier to raid transportation funds than confront the underlying flaws in the state budget. As a result, California doesn't have enough money to advance the road projects it wants and needs. Here's how ridiculous it's become: State road funding hinges on the defeat of two gambling measures on the Nov. 2 ballot. The initiatives would overturn gambling compacts with five tribes that have pledged $1.2 billion in bonds to replace transportation money filched by legislators.

Shouldn't California have a better plan for renovating its highways than hoping voters don't nullify agreements on casinos? No wonder about a dozen transportation sales-tax measures appear on the Nov. 2 ballot across California, including Measure I in San Bernardino County. Without the money these half-percent taxes generate, local governments would have scant way to address the traffic demands of a growing economy and population.

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Online at: http://www.pe.com/localnews/opinion/editorials/stories/PE_OpEd_Opinion_op_25_ed_transportation.57aa0.html