Saturday, February 27, 2016

American sprawl dragging everyone down into poverty. 1 in 3 households in trouble in Idaho.

News & Observer: "A new report from the United Ways of the Pacific Northwest found that more than one in three households in Idaho can tell a similar story. Adults in those homes are working, sometimes more than one job. Even if they're managing to keep their household incomes above the poverty line, they're not making enough to cover the basic cost of living in their communities.
...The report also found that many jobs are not located near affordable housing. That places a larger burden on public transportation, which also is often not adequate."

Saturday, February 20, 2016

People willing to pay more taxes from more free buses

missoulian.com: "Interestingly, 48 percent of adults supported paying more taxes or fees if the money was spent only on transportation system improvements, while 29 percent were opposed. About 19.8 percent were undecided.

Of registered voters within city limits, 52.3 percent supported paying more taxes or fees, but that support fell to 41.9 percent in county areas.

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The most popular hypothetical mechanism to pay for those improvements was a 2-cent increase per gallon of fuel, which was supported by 59.1 percent of Missoula-area residents. Maintaining and repairing existing streets and roads was the most frequently cited preferred use for the money (37.1 percent), followed by widening existing streets and roads (19.2 percent).

A small majority of Missoula-area residents, 52 percent, ranked reducing traffic congestion as the possible action that would improve the transportation system the most."