Reno highway project is a high priority
To the editor:
Your Saturday editorial regarding improvements on U.S. Highway 395 in Northern Nevada contained a number of inaccuracies that should be corrected for your readers.
First, Assembly Bill 595, passed in the 2007 Legislature, directs a portion of certain tax revenues to the State Highway Fund. Most of those funds must be used in the county in which they were collected. Thus, those tax revenues collected in Washoe County must be spent there, just as those collected in Clark County must be spent there.
The U.S. 395 project in Reno is the project prioritized to be paid for by the taxes paid by Washoe County residents, not by Clark County or any other county’s residents. As per the bill, NDOT can’t “redirect” those funds, as the editorial suggests.
Second, while Clark County residents may have raised their sales tax to pay for road improvements, none of that money goes to the State Highway Fund for NDOT’s use.
Third, Washoe County residents, in fact, have voted to raise their taxes to pay for road improvements. Again, none of that money goes to the State Highway Fund.
Fourth, the U.S. 395 project most assuredly is a high-priority project in the state. It is based on need. It was never, in fact, pushed “to the front of the queue” before the last Legislature. It was identified as a priority through the Blue Ribbon Committee and has gone through the legislatively required benefit-cost analysis. It is a priority for Washoe County and the state’s roadway system. Road improvement projects that provide congestion relief and save lives can hardly be considered “pork.”
Hard work by many individuals during the 2007 legislative session provided funding for our state’s highways.
NDOT understands and recognizes the needs in Southern Nevada and is working hard with our local partners to deliver the most beneficial and priority projects expeditiously within the parameters and restrictions placed upon the processes. Southern Nevada projects being funded through AB595 include two projects to widen Interstate 15 and a project to widen U.S. Highway 95.
Delivering the right projects to reduce congestion, improve safety, and preserve our state system are NDOT’s priorities.
Susan Martinovich
CARSON CITY
THE WRITER IS DIRECTOR OF THE NEVADA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.
Transit for the masses
To the editor:
In the Monday editorial “Higher gasoline taxes?” the Review-Journal scoffed at the fact that a portion of the federal gasoline tax is contributed to the Mass Transit Account of the Federal Highway Trust Fund. The editorial called mass transit projects “politically correct” and “boondoggles.”
Apparently, the Review-Journal believes that the 63.8 million passenger trips made on the Regional Transportation Commission’s public transit system last year constitutes a boondoggle.
The RTC’s buses collectively carry an average of 43.86 passengers per hour. The buses are hardly empty. The RTC’s system is indeed a mass transit system that transports the masses.
Many routes, including Maryland Parkway and the Deuce route on the Strip, are standing-room-only during peak periods. Ridership on the Deuce is more than 32,000 per day. Those riders are not just tourists — thousands of locals use the Deuce to go to work, to attend shows or to dine on the Strip. That service cannot be called a bad investment in this community.
The RTC re-evaluates routes twice a year and makes changes in order to balance ridership demand with available vehicles. Larger-capacity vehicles are assigned to routes with higher demand, and both fares and external advertising on the vehicles cover much of the operational cost of the service.
To discount the roughly 175,000 trips made on public transportation each day in this community is to discount the people who take it and the importance they add to our service-driven economy. Thousands of commuters take it because they choose not to drive, they are unable to drive or they choose to take a safer and more environmentally friendly method of transportation.
Roads are a critical element in transportation, but public transportation must not be dismissed.
Jacob Snow
LAS VEGAS
THE WRITER IS THE GENERAL MANAGER OF THE REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION OF SOUTHERN NEVADA.
Real losers
To the editor:
John L. Smith’s Tuesday column, which highlighted the winners and losers of Saturday’s Nevada caucuses, left out one of the biggest losers: the Review-Journal.
The Review-Journal, in its Sunday editorial and again in Mr. Smith’s column, took great delight in the fact that the Culinary union’s endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama did not result in a “win” for him. The Review-Journal seems to have conveniently forgotten that it recommended Democrats support Mr. Obama, as well. I would suggest that makes the Review-Journal a loser, also.
It would seem to me, an independent and a non-union voter, that the reputation of the Review-Journal as a political kingmaker in Nevada also took a hit and is remarkably overrated.
Richard Pratt
HENDERSON
