| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: Politix |
| SANDAG Board Approves Future Per-Mile Road Usage Tax to Fund Transit Projects |
| 2021-10-31 |
| [TimeOfSanDiego] The San Diego Association of Governments board of directors Friday approved a "road usage charge" tax as part of several updates to the transit agency’s region plan, but its timeline was refined to more closely mirror a similar effort by the state. The four-cent-per-mile tax — and two half-cent regional sales taxes scheduled for 2022 and 2028 — is envisioned as a way to help fund SANDAG’s long-term regional plan, an ambitious 30-year, $160 billion proposal which could include no-cost public transit and a 200-mile, $43 billion regional rail network. According to SANDAG, the timeline of the tax hikes "was refined to adjust timing of the road usage charge to align more closely with state planning efforts, ensure adequate time to study and pilot potential strategies and include a diversity of funding sources that allows for flexibility in the future." "The 2021 Regional Plan is an unprecedented investment in the San Diego region’s future," SANDAG Chair and Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear said in a statement. "We have listened to the community and are proposing a modernized transportation system through the 2021 Regional Plan that works for everyone, with affordable options that get us to the people and places we want to go in a safer and cleaner way." SANDAG, San Diego County’s regional transportation planning agency, received more than 1,500 comments on the draft 2021 Regional Plan. Some were positive, but many were critical of the agency’s proposed tax increases. San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond said the proposal was intended to "force everyone on to trolleys and buses" by pricing people out of their cars. "This proposal should never see the light of day," Desmond said. "San Diegans already pay some of the highest prices to drive in the country. From the current gas taxes to a vehicle registration tax, San Diegans feel the effects, in their wallets, every day." And now a word on SANDAG's director. Check out where he was educated: Hasan Ikhrata Biography Considered one of the preeminent transportation planning experts in the nation, Hasan Ikhrata is the Executive Director of the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). SANDAG is the leading research, planning, and transportation agency for the San Diego region. The agency builds consensus; makes strategic plans; obtains and allocates resources; plans, engineers, and builds public transportation, and provides information on a broad range of topics pertinent to the region's quality of life. Agency policymakers are elected officials from each of the area’s 18 cities and the county. Mr. Ikhrata leads a staff of about 350 professionals who develop public policy initiatives for elected officials on numerous issues encompassing population growth, transportation, environmental management, economic development, municipal finance, binational coordination, and public safety. Mr. Ikhrata has over 30 years of public and private sector transportation planning experience in the region. As Executive Director of SANDAG, he directs day‐to‐day operations of the agency and implements policies set by its governing board. In addition, Mr. Ikhrata is the Chief Executive Officer of the SANDAG Service Bureau, the nonprofit public benefit corporation chartered by SANDAG. Mr. Ikhrata has received several awards and honors from various organizations and agencies including the American Society of Public Administration, Southern California Leadership Council, Orange County Transportation Authority, Orange County Business Council, League of California Cities, City of Los Angeles, State of California Certificate of Recognition, Association of the San Bernardino County Special Districts, the Building Industry Association, regional chapters of the Women’s Transportation Seminar and numerous others. Mr. Ikhrata holds a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Civil and Industrial Engineering from Zaporozhye University in the former Soviet Union; a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from UCLA, and a PhD Candidacy in Urban Planning and Transportation from the University of Southern California. Prior to joining SANDAG in 2018, Mr. Ikhrata worked for Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD). Mr. Ikhrata is an adjunct professor in the business school at California State University, Northridge. |
| Posted by:Abu Uluque |
| #8 Part of your Social Credit profile. Peasant, behave. |
| Posted by: Merrick Ferret 2021-10-31 19:22 |
| #7 That device is in your pocket; result of allowing Covid Skip Tracing. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2021-10-31 19:00 |
| #6 How do they plan to track the mileage? I drive out of CA many, many times every year. Thousand of miles outside of the state. Are they going to try to put a GPS locator on my car? Good luck with that. I might have to attach that device to the top of the nearest city bus. Just about done with CA altogether. Heading to a free state soon I hope. |
| Posted by: Woozle Splat4029 2021-10-31 17:16 |
| #5 Well so far they have promised rapid transit for busses/trolleys and spent billions to satisfy only 2% of the population. |
| Posted by: crazyhorse 2021-10-31 14:24 |
| #4 He did a post-doc in Urban Sheep Herding at the Institute of Neo-Feudalism's Contemporary Peasant Lab, USSA-U. |
| Posted by: Merrick Ferret 2021-10-31 13:36 |
| #3 Glenmore: that just reinforces my belief that traffic circles are terrorism. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2021-10-31 10:15 |
| #2 As I recall, former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had a doctorate in traffic engineering. Hmm. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2021-10-31 09:47 |
| #1 Trying to force everyone to live in Soviet-style dense apartment complexes centered on trolley routes. He can FOAD. They're pretending this is a citizen's initiative so the don't have to get a 2/3rds vote, just a majority |
| Posted by: Frank G 2021-10-31 09:03 |