League News and Publicity
Is Orlando the next LA?
Deirdre Macnab and Abra Horne, April 26, 2006
Just imagine expressways and traffic at a standstill, our bus
commuters waiting an average of an hour to an hour and a half
between buses. Is this what lies in our future?
Unfortunately, this is Orange County today. For decades, Florida
has lacked the transportation funding to keep pace with its exploding
growth, some of the fastest in the nation. While U.S. commuters
spend an estimated 55 eighthour workdays in traffic per year,
Orange County bus riders can experience an average daily round-trip
commute of almost three hours per day, not including lengthy waiting
time between buses.
Compared with cities with similar populations, our public transportation
system is vastly underfunded, hamstrung without a dedicated funding
source and is working with a fleet size a fraction of comparably
sized cities. (Our bus system has a service area 33 percent larger
than those with comparable sized populations and is working with
a fleet barely half the size.)
But there is hope in the halls of Tallahassee. Legislation is
pending that would give local governments the authority to levy
additional funding sources for critical transportation needs.
Just one of these could potentially provide in excess of $40 million
annually to Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties for both road-building
and other transportation projects.
The two bills propose to enable local counties to raise funds
for hometown needs. The first bill (SB 2362) would levy up to
a $2 fee on rental cars, if voters approve, while the other (SB
2312) would enable counties to enact up to an additional 1-cent
sales surtax.
The Leagues of Women Voters of Florida and Orange County support
giving local governments "hometown choices." Local citizens
should be able to approve additional funds for their infrastructure
needs. With rapidly occurring growth spinning out of control,
time is running out.
The time for ensuring Orange County can speak its own voice in
the future of our transportation solutions is now. The League
of Women Voters urges you to get involved in your future.
Contact your state senators and representatives to urge their
support of these bills. To reach your legislator, visit the league's
Web site www.LWVOC.org or use the following link: www.leg.state.fl.us.
Tell him or her that you support local choice for transportation
funding.
Deirdre Macnab is president of the League
of Women Voters of Orange County.
Abra Horne is a senior transportation planner with PBS&J,
an engineering firm.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/orl-myword2606apr26,0,365720.story?coll=orl-opinion-headlines
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