The Issue of Raising Sales Tax for Roads
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A local heart institute doctor has stated that the Saddleback Valley air quality is equivalent to smoking one to two packs of cigarettes daily. Ozone, a pollutant that aggravates breathing problems, is frequently too high in our county.
On Tuesday, Measure M asks for a sales tax increase. The major emphasis of this measure is to add freeway corridors and super-streets. Vehicle exhaust accounts for almost all of the air pollutants in the South Coast Air Basin. So if Measure M is adopted, the shadow on our future is an increase in air pollution. This we’ll regret, and eventually will require costly remedial measures. Do we have to wait until there’s a smog tragedy in Orange County?
Alternative transportation systems are a visionary way to go. The mass transit aspects of Measure M are too minimal and lack immediacy. A “no” vote will encourage the planners and politicians (developers, also) to reconsider and offer healthier solutions to our transportation problems.
JUNE HUGHES
Laguna Hills
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