Some Atlanta leaders want to start charging you to drive into the city (Smyrna: to buy, construction)

[autolycus25]

That is not a valid reason for it to be free to them & Atlanta residents to pick up the costs.

FYI, the companies that those suburban commuters work for do pay taxes in Atlanta. They likely pay both significant property taxes as well as business taxes. The commuters aren't getting free roads. Their employers are paying for them.

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by autolycus25

FYI, the companies that those suburban commuters work for do pay taxes in Atlanta. They likely pay both significant property taxes as well as business taxes. The commuters aren't getting free roads. Their employers are paying for them.

They are not paying near as much as residents are. Residential property tax revenues outnumber commercial (which office is only a small part of) more than 2-to-1.

And even still, why should a company where most the employees commute in via MARTA pay the same amount for the streets as one where all the employees drive? Shouldn't there be an incentive to drive less instead of making people pay for streets regardless of how much they drive on it? Shouldn't we want less traffic in the city?

Also, that does not include people that drive on a municipalities streets that neither live nor work there.

[Otakumaster]

Originally Posted by jsvh

Few people drive from the suburbs into the city to do their regular shopping.

Ok, so what do you think they doing when they come into the city? You seem smart enough to know they are doing something that requires them to spend money in Atlanta.

Originally Posted by jsvh

That is not a valid reason for it to be free to them & Atlanta residents to pick up the costs.

People putting money in the local tax base and supporting the local economy is not a valid reason for them to travel to the area to do this for free?

This can be good discussion if you actually chose to be intellectually honest.

The people of Atlanta have a right to vote on this, but they definitely need to be informed of the economic and ultimately the cultural impact if people have less incentive to spend money in Atlanta.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by jsvh

They are not paying near as much as residents are. Residential property tax revenues outnumber commercial (which office is only a small part of) more than 2-to-1.

Not to mention that the business community gets a free ride on mass transit as well.

Wonder who's sitting up there in the Laughing Room?

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by Otakumaster

Ok, so what do you think they doing when they come into the city? You seem smart enough to know they are doing something that requires them to spend money in Atlanta.

Driving to another place in the metro. Few people in the metro go from home to work without crossing through multiple municipalities. People driving from places like Decatur to Smyrna or East Point to Brookhaven or a thousand other combinations.

Originally Posted by Otakumaster

People putting money in the local tax base and supporting the local economy is not a valid reason for them to travel to the area to do this for free?

This can be good discussion if you actually chose to be intellectually honest.

The people of Atlanta have a right to vote on this, but they definitely need to be informed of the economic and ultimately the cultural impact if people have less incentive to spend money in Atlanta.

Nope. It is not a valid reason for city residents to pick up the tab for others. Less traffic would be great. Also, other cities that have already done this have seen their economies continue to thrive.

[Otakumaster]

Originally Posted by jsvh

Driving to another place in the metro. Few people in the metro go from home to work without crossing through multiple municipalities. People driving from places like Decatur to Smyrna or East Point to Brookhaven or a thousand other combinations.

Once again, most people driving the across the metro are using highways. They aren't using Atlanta neighborhood streets to go from College Park to Brookhaven.

Originally Posted by jsvh

Nope. It is not a valid reason for city residents to pick up the tab for others. Less traffic would be great. Also, other cities that have already done this have seen their economies continue to thrive.

Any city charging a toll to drive in has a much better transit system than anything in the Southeast.

As I said before; let the people vote, but they definitely need to know the economic impact of this.

[DaBurgh]

Will the doctors and nurses that commute in to treat Atlanta residents have to pay the toll?
How about the truck drivers that bring Atlanta residents their food, water and fuel?
How about the volunteers that travel in to help Atlanta residents for various causes?

[cqholt]

Vehicle Mileage Fees would solve all the issues discussed here. It would track how many miles a vehicle drove through a jurisdiction and calculate the user fees automatically, without having to setup tolls, etc.

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by DaBurgh

Will the doctors and nurses that commute in to treat Atlanta residents have to pay the toll?
How about the truck drivers that bring Atlanta residents their food, water and fuel?
How about the volunteers that travel in to help Atlanta residents for various causes?

Yes.

The will also have to pay for their food, water, and rent among many other things. Roads should be no different.

[evannole]

Originally Posted by jsvh

Plus people that fill up before entering GA and people with alternative fuel / electric vehicles are not paying for the gas tax.

Yes, you're right that those of us with electric vehicles are not paying a gas tax. Instead, we are paying to the state an annual electric vehicle registration/ownership tax, which generates roughly twice the annual revenue for the state highway fund as the gas tax on a 30-mpg car would when driven 12,000 miles annually. I just bought an electric car, and I am paying well more than I used to in gas taxes. I don't especially mind, as I recognize the need to maintain infrastructure, though I think it's a bit perverse that the more environmentally friendly and responsible vehicle gets dinged more per mile than a typical gas car; I am guessing that the assumption was that electric car drivers tend to be more affluent and can afford to pay more.

But in any event, no, we electric car drivers are not getting a free ride on highway funding. If anything, we are paying more than our fair share.