Friday, June 5, 2009

Madison Seeks To Stem Driving

The City of Madison is considering reducing driving citywide as a means of encouraging growth away from its edges.

Some details, here.

The city could work towards that goal with transit expansion and other incentives to spark walkable, bike-accessible development on the Isthmus and near-downtown neighborhoods.

I think it won't be long before all vehicles will have bar-coded stickers on their bumpers or dashboards; sensors will pick up driving, measure out mileage and bill drivers for a proportionate share of street-related expenses - - construction, maintenance, patrol, plowing, etc.

The less you drive, the lower your share, and the more of these expenses are withdrawn from local property taxes.

That may strike some as Draconian, but it's no different than highway tolling, and transfers more of automobile costs now widely socialized directly to motorists.

2 comments:

Dave1 said...

Rather than yet another program (bar code readers or GPS transmitters)to administer, why not just raise the gasoline tax?

The more you drive, the more you pay. Additionally, if you drive a bigger or less efficient car, you pay more.

Joshua Skolnick said...

I think Madison needs to improve its public transportation, including light rail and commuter rail, which is constantly slapped down and rejected, before it can soak the driving public for mileage driven. I agree it is a laudable goal to reduce driving, but without viable alternative public transportation, these efforts will fail.