O'Malley Makes Case for Major Gas Tax Increase
As state and local officials praised a 15-cent-per-gallon gas tax increase in College Park Tuesday night, Gov. Martin O'Malley made the case to the Maryland Municipal League. They said it's needed to fund the Purple Line.
While state and local officials praised a proposed 15-cent-per-gallon gas tax to help fund the Purple Line light rail, Gov. Martin O'Malley told a gathering of Maryland mayors and councilmembers that a major gas tax increase is necessary to close the budget deficit, create jobs and fund road and transit projects.
A commission set up by the state legislature and governor finalized a recommendation to increase Maryland's gas tax from 23.5 cents to 38.5 cents over three years, according to The Washington Post.
The higher revenues will not only be needed for the Purple Line, but for the Red Line light rail through Baltimore as well.
“Neither of these projects is free,” O’Malley said.
Read more on The Post.
Pam Browning
1:21 pm on Wednesday, November 2, 2011
I would pay the tax for a well planned transit project. But the Purple Line as planned is really a development project, designed to allow increased density, especially targeted for Connecticut Avenue at Chevy Chase Lake, and it is not designed to take a significant number of cars off the road. Rather is will take riders out of buses and put them on expensive light rail.
The only place that the Purple LIne will run on designated lanes outside of traffic is on the Capital Crescent Trail. That is why MTA is insistent are destroying this irreplaceable, essential greenspace. The rest of the Purple Line will be stuck in traffic, through Silver Spring and PG County. This is an irresponsible plan that will suck transit dollars away from Metro and from real transportation solutions.
The Purple Line should have been planned as a combination of Bus Rapid Transit from College Park to Silver Spring, and Metro between Bethesda and Silver Spring along the Beltway, making a true Metro connection between the two legs of the Red Line.
JH
1:58 pm on Wednesday, November 2, 2011
No more tax increases. Stop the madness. Maryland citizens are already taxed too much. Among the highest taxes in the nation. Too much waste and fraud in Maryland Medicaid and other programs. Want more revenue ---- try collecting from the freeloaders and tax cheats that don't pay state income taxes.
Rick Hudson
6:13 pm on Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Why balance the budget when you can tax everyone more.
Jim Roy
8:36 pm on Wednesday, November 2, 2011
While we Americans enjoy great things that are funded by our taxes, too much of our money is being poorly used by our government. Let's clean up wasted expenses and stop throwing money at something that will take riders off one form of public transportation and put them on another.
CP Resident
9:50 pm on Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Looks like I'll be getting my gas in VA!