Letter: Let the people decide whether Richland vehicle tax is necessary
The City Council should not decide to impose a $20 vehicle tax on Richland residents for the Duportail bridge without a vote of the people. It is the residents who should decide whether the bridge will benefit the majority of people living in the city.
It is not clear to me that the bridge will alleviate traffic on George Washington Way as advertised. During rush hour traffic on the bypass, it is common to have the two-lane traffic toward Kennewick backed up, yet the right-hand lane to the I-182 bridge is clear. In fact, it is irritating that some drivers use the right-hand lane to pass other drivers and merge into the two-lane traffic just before the light at the I-182 interchange.
My point is that the city has not provided adequate justification for imposing a new tax on all city residents. Let the people decide!
Charlie Holman, Richland
This story was originally published February 16, 2017 at 3:49 AM with the headline "Letter: Let the people decide whether Richland vehicle tax is necessary."