Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke said in Milwaukee this week that she would consider creating toll roads to help fund infrastructure projects.
“We should have all the options out on the table, and toll roads are certainly one of those options and I would consider looking at it," she said.
Reactions to Mary Burke’s comments have been mixed. Journalist and blogger Steve Prestegard, for one, is opposed to the idea.
“You know why we don’t have toll roads now? I mean, it is simply because nobody likes them,” he said, on Friday morning.
“Mary has to explain why we should on the one hand pay some of the highest gas taxes in the nation, and on the other hand also pay tolls,” he continued.
Louis Fortis, editor-in-chief of the Milwaukee alternative newspaper, Shepherd Express, said he's less averse to the idea of toll roads. He argues that those who use the roadways should have to pay for them.
“You’d be bringing in a lot of money from the people from Illinois, and I think it’s fair game that if they’re going to be coming up here and using our resources that they should pay for them,” Fortis said.
“I think people wouldn’t initially like it because nobody wants to pay an additional tax. At the same time, they would get used to it and realize that it’s actually saving them money,” he added.
Burke said the state is using general purpose revenue and borrowing too much money for road building. She insisted that trimming some highway projects might be a good idea. She said the state Department of Transportation should slow down on its talk of widening or double-decking Interstate 94 through Milwaukee’s west side.
“We have to determine whether it’s really needed,” said Burke. “I think there are some thoughts that … we’re overbuilding.”
A spokesperson for Walker's re-election campaign, when asked about the toll road issue, responded by saying the governor’s most recent budget invested over $6 billion, without raising taxes, to improve our state's roads, bridges and railways. Walker’s campaign says the state is still repaying the Gov. Jim Doyle administration's raid of over $1 billion in transportation funding.
Editor's note: The "Week in Review" can be heard each Friday at 8 a.m. on the Ideas Network of Wisconsin Public Radio.
