Today, SANDAG approved the highly controversial Regional Transportation Plan. The Regional Transportation Plan will cost $163 billion and will be funded by a number of new taxes and fees that only punish drivers. Some of these fees include a 4.5 cent per mile tax and a Rideshare usage fee.
The plan has been criticized heavily by Republican politicians around the county as a way to discourage people from driving and forcing people onto public transportation. They also said that the taxes that go with the plan will only increase the cost of living, which is already increasing in San Diego. Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey was heavily critical of the Democrats who supported the plan, saying that many of them don’t take public transportation despite trying to force us onto it with this plan. Coronado joined other cities such as Vista, El Cajon, San Marcos, Oceanside, Santee, Carlsbad, and Poway and voting no on the plan.
One of the biggest surprises was the city of Escondido voting yes. Despite the City Council passing a resolution to vote against the plan, Escondido mayor Paul MacNamara sits as the Escondido representative on SANDAG and voted against the resolution. There is still much debate about the “road user charge”, with some Democrats like Mayor Todd Gloria supporting the removal of that charge from the plan.
While some are considering this a historic moment in San Diego’s history, most people realize that this plan’s only intention is to change the livelihoods of the citizens of San Diego.
Photo Cred: KUSI
