Better Roads Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/96390
Snapshot of a Stalemate M ore than 90 percent of Virginians are eagerly behind better roads for the state. But most Virginians are reluctant to support strategies to increase funding to pay for them. A total of 92 percent of Virginia voters in a new Quinnipiac University poll say it is ���very important��� or ���somewhat important��� to improve roads and highways. But there are mixed opinions on where to find the money to make the improvements. Voters oppose 57-38 (5 percent DK/NA)percent putting tolls on parts of Interstate 95 in the Commonwealth to pay for road repairs. Given a choice, however, between tolls or a higher gas tax, voters prefer tolls 56-32 percent (12 percent DK/NA). Support for tolls over a gas tax hike is strong among all groups, except voters in the southeast part of the Commonwealth, where 46 percent prefer tolls and 42 percent prefer higher gas taxes. ���There is broad public support for the idea of state action to improve the state���s roads and highways, but not on how such projects should be funded,��� says Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. Jetson Roads M aybe we could still, one day, drive like George Jetson. Maybe science is getting a little closer to making our roads smarter and safer. For example: Two Dutch companies are working on the road of the very near future. Their research includes projects that address safety and intelligent transportation: mally transparent, but in extreme, icy cold, the paint reveals warning symbols on the road surface. which absorbs solar energy during the day and can glow in the dark for up to10 hours. electric vehicle batteries as they drive down the road. as a vehicle approaches and get dimmer as it moves away. STAND UP FOR AMERICA Join us and thousands of others to stand up for manufacturing jobs I Make America is a national grassroots campaign that supports policies to protect and increase America���s manufacturing and construction jobs in order to improve our economy and keep the U.S. globally competitive. TAKE ACTION NOW! PLEASE VISIT IMAKEAMERICA.COM Better Roads December 2012 5