Pothole Problem

What’s with all the potholes? Michigan’s 19¢ gas tax is, along with vehicle registration fees, our state’s primary source of funding for roads. It has not been adjusted in nearly 20 years. As a result, communities across Michigan, including East Lansing, lack the resources necessary to reinvest in our infrastructure.

The map below displays East Lansing’s most recent PASER (Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating System) ratings for our major and local streets. It also provides a summary of the change in ratings since 2008. As you can see, 62% of East Lansing’s local streets and 57% of our major streets are currently rated as “poor.” Why? Because we are in current dollars we are receiving the same level of funding for roads today that we were in FY05. When you adjust for inflation, that’s over $912,000 less available to fund our infrastructure today than a decade ago. We can’t improve those ratings and the road conditions they represent without more resources.

That’s one of the reasons that the May sales tax ballot measure is so important to the future of cities like East Lansing. A yes vote on the May ballot measure will ultimately result in an additional $1.8 million annually for East Lansing roads. A no vote will leave us, and all Michigan communities, with revenue inadequate to the infrastructure challenge we face. Voting yes on the May ballot measure is an important step in the right direction.

#eastlansing #taxes