Spent another lovely night in San Mateo last Friday,
a place just like California used to be. They have
indigenous booming businesses, they have no parking
meters, they have good transportation, a balance of
all five forms of travel; bus, rail, cabs, private
automobiles and walking. It is amazing when you find
a place that can actually balance its transportation
needs.
Well, like all good things…the evil “blue meanies”
of Cal-Trans are eager to “mess with the system” and
have suggested that the carpool lanes on the freeways
up there “study” to find out if “congestion pricing”
might work on their “carpool lanes”. Good Grief
Charlie Brown…..do these “mainstream hippies” have
nothing better to do than mess with mother nature?
We all need to write Cal-Trans and tell them what an
obnoxious thought process that is. It will require
every auto in the State of California to either have
an electronic dog leash or with those charming cameras
find that another $371 dollar ticket has been sent to
them compliments of Cal-Trans for not having an
electronic dash sensor to use on Carpool lanes. The
two year study will undoubtedly be shortened to a few
months…as they always do….when they really want to
do something. The Assembly will rush through the law
and the Governor will cry the blues….that our massive
transportation crisis “has to be solved…anyway we can!”
So, this war begins. It is a war created by Robert Poole
and the Reason Foundation, supported by elitist developer
groups and rings hardest against those on fixed income
and the poor. Who are the poor..you ask? If you have
to ask..you probably don’t know any! You will probably
claim that Al Gore invented “congestion pricing” and
argue for $10 a gallon gas. If so, make sure that you
live in guarded and gated communities and just never go
out. After all, Cal-Trans is guarding your highway
system!
In the meantime, we advise everyone to go visit San
Mateo. You just fly right into San Francisco Airport
and run down the road….while they still don’t have
“congestion pricing on carpool lanes”! You will be
shocked to see what a real California town still looks
like! You will be even more shocked to see how a
balanced transportation formula can actually work!
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