Business Groups to Rally for Transportation Dollars
A coalition of groups is set to rally on Lawyers Mall in Annapolis Thursday to push for more than $800 million in new money for transportation upgrades in the state.
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Last week, I wrote about how the West Anne Arundel Chamber of Commerce will be pushing lawmakers to funnel more money to the transportation infrastructure during the current legislative session.
The West County Chamber isn't the only one speaking out on this issue, as a coalition of business groups plans to rally in Annapolis on Thursday to bring attention to the issue.
The Statewide Alliance to Restore the Trust (START) is scheduled to gather from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday at Lawyers Mall outside the State House in Annapolis.
The group includes about 90 different organizations and is calling for legislators to follow through on the Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation Funding recommendation to raise more than $800 million in new money for transportation. This includes support for an increase in the gas tax.
The issue of transportation dollars has been a big one in Odenton and Severn, as the expansion of the workforce at Fort Meade is expected to strain local roadways.
According to a flier distributed by START, projects funded by the new transportation dollars will provide “thousands of jobs in the construction industry and associated sectors, which have been severely affected by the recession.”
This is the second go-around for START, which was formed at the start of last year’s legislative session. Lawmakers presented bills that would have raised new transportation money, but the legislature failed to pass them.
McGibblets
7:36 am on Tuesday, January 17, 2012
"...raise more than $800 million in new money for transportation. This includes support for an increase in the gas tax."
They do realize that this will only divert 'old' money that people spent on other items. I understand the need for road improvements, especially in the Odenton/Severn area however a new tax is not the solution. When people start talking about all of these new jobs that have come to the area do they forget that these people already have an impact in the amount of new tax revenue generated simply due to their employment and spending habits. If more people are living and commuting here locally the rise in tax revenue should be proportionate to the rise in population if it truly is expansion based. Therefore there should already be actual "new" money available already....