So i just got home and got this little flyer in the mail about how great this new triangle expressway that is going to have a TOLL. Yes , a TOLL!!!! They asked for feedback, so i sent them this little letter: How can you ask us to pay for yet another road that you didnt complete the first time?!?!?!? The 540 was bought and paid for and you spent the money elsewhere and didnt finish this road the first time...now you are asking us to pay for it again? AND make it a toll road? are you insane? Fix your budget, reduce state government , cut spending on flowers on the side of the road and this gigantic fleet of state vehicles and you again have enough money to finish this road, and let us drive it for free. Other states dont have this problem, how stupid do you think we are?
It's curious that the Turnpike Authority would ask for feedback at this late date: this has been a done deal for a few years. If they don't know what people think by now, they aren't listening.
Sounds like they're taking lessons from the politicians in Pennsylvania. Rendell has made a MESS of this state.
Calm down - it just says it's going to be STUDIED as a toll facility. There's info on the back of the flyer to send in your comments.
not the point, cleanup hitter. those funds were already allocated, and easley (among others, i'm sure) stole them for years and years and then tried to cover it with the lottery... http://www.wral.com/news/local/politics/story/6004490/
What did people expect?? The rich North Raleigh home owners got their highway free and clear. Now the lowlife commuters can pay for their highway. Don't expect any high dollar sound walls like they have either. Wouldn't it be better to toll the road that's in place and then apply the money to build the rest of it? Or are we suppose to do it backwards and on credit?
I didn't say it was but 540 affects their property taxes so it costs more to have 540 close by. Ddrdan implies it was/is free for them.
I'm sure I misunderstood, but you're saying that they paid for their infrastructure improvement because the taxes on their property increased due to their property being more valuable? The value of my property didn't improve, but I still paid for "their" highway. Where's the quid pro quo? I helped them, but they won't help me?
Johnston county taxes are higher and have been since 1992. I chose Johnston over Wake in 1991 based on the tax rate. In 1992 they exceeded Wake and have since. The acceleration in property values in North Raleigh has been a known for over 15 years now. People building homes there knew the 540 would increase their value and their taxes. They built with the intent of capitalizing on the false increase of value. So they should get a non-toll highway too? If you'd really like to compare, in the year the highway was funded,(averaged): A Johnston County $200,000 home owner was paying the same tax as a $230,000 Wake home owner. So by your analogy ..... shouldn't we have gotten our section of I540 first because we were paying the higher taxes? Also, we still pay a higher rate and receive 20% less services. The I540 was built to accommodate the people on the hill. People on the hill don't pay. Crap rolls down hill. That's partly why it's nicknamed Crapital Boulevard. PS: "Free & Clear" meant they won't be paying a toll to use 'their' part of the highway.
i believe the county rate is lower, yes, but you'd have to add in raleigh city taxes for most of the area....
By 'North Raleigh' I meant all the towns outside the 540. My mistake. I've lived here since Crapital Blvd. droped off the flat edge of the earth at the Kmart.:lol: Nothing was north of that. But Raleigh isn't the highest in Wake. Add the city taxes in Johnston County also, if you want an average to compare. Raleigh is consistently in the lower 3 of all the Wake city rates? They have been lower for many years now. Wake county taxes dropped .14/100 in 08 making them lower again. You want irony? The cities directly adjacent to and profiting from the 540 are in the lowest to mid category of all city rates in Wake. Not the highest, as suggested in this thread. This issue was discussed in here a long time ago. Here's the comparison when the 540 was funded to proceed: http://www.researchtriangle.org/data/local.html Here's last 10 years for wake county: Tax pdf
For the life of me, for the last day and a half I have been trying to locate the link to a debate about the 540 expansion. The debate surrounded the the funding from the northern half vs the southern half. I remember thinking like Ddrdan that it was unfair but ultimately came away thinking the northerners made valid points. I hope I can find it because it made sense.
