Public committee to help prioritize congestion relief projects with vehicle registration fee revenue

Public committee to help prioritize congestion relief projects with vehicle registration fee revenue

Last month, the Board of County Commissioners approved an ordinance setting a $30 per year countywide vehicle registration fee (VRF). The fee will generate up to $5.5 million for needed traffic safety improvements, paving low-traffic roads, and building congestion relief projects that would not be possible without the additional revenue. ·    Safety improvements ($500,000): Many safety projects can be implemented at low cost to make roads safer for all travelers in both urban and rural areas, such as adding left turn lanes and warning signs.  ·    Paving local roads ($1 million): Resurfacing urban and rural local roads (generally roads that people use to get from their home to a larger roadway) is typically not a priority due to the low volume of traffic on these roads. The majority of road funds go to roads with high traffic volumes. An extra $1 million will pave 2-3 miles of urban local roads or 3-4 miles of rural local roads each year. Currently, the county has 107 miles of urban local roads and 127 miles of rural local roads that are in fair, poor or very poor condition. ·    Congestion relief capital projects ($3.5-to-$4 million): Helping traffic to flow more smoothly will benefit all travelers. Needed projects have been identified by the public in the county’s Transportation System Plan (TSP), but without the new VRF revenue there is no money to fund them. A new public committee will advise the board on identifying and prioritizing projects to move forward. The county will keep track of the VRF revenue and expenditures in a separate program so the public can see how the money is spent. Interested in serving on the public committee? Details for the advisory role are coming soon; to receive updates about the opportunity email Ellen Rogalin. Read more information about the VRF.