On Aug. 7, I parked the bike on Third Avenue just west of Main Street for a look at the completed paving patch on that block.
While the Albany City Council keeps talking about how to raise $6 million a year for street repairs, the city’s street crew keeps plugging away on temporary fixes by patching the broken asphalt one block at a time.
A couple of weeks ago the street department tackled one of the worst sections of Third Avenue, the block between Main Street and Madison Avenue. They scraped off the potholes on the driving lanes and applied a few inches of smooth asphalt.
The street crew does a few sections like this every year. So now, what’s next on the list, I asked Robb Romeo, the transportation manager in Albany Public Works.
“We are moving to the south and getting the worst patches on Fourth, Fifth and Sixth, in no particular order,” he replied on Monday.
That afternoon, the city council listened to another presentation from consultant Deb Galardi on how to fashion the rates of a city transportation fee. The council made no decisions.
Some members seem inclined to wait on imposing the street fee until city voters are asked to decide on a possible local fuel tax. Then the council would decide on the fee depending on the outcome of the tax election.
The city staff’s target for getting more street revenue is $6 million a year, either through a fuel tax or a fee added to utility bills, or a combination of both.
Setting a fee that seems fair to different kinds of utility customers is complicated. The rates would be based generally on how many trips a particular class of customers is estimated to generate.
To appreciate the complexities, you should watch the Galardi segment on the YouTube recording of Monday’s council work session. Of particular interest are the tables she presented on possible monthly charges for residential and nonresidential customers of the city’s water utility.
Monthly rates for residences, one table showed, could range from about $6 to about $14 depending on the size of a single-family house. Apartments and trailer parks might be charged around $7 or $8 per unit.
There is greater variety among potential rates for nonresidential water customers. There, the potential monthly street bills might be $2,000 for a supermarket and $1,500 for Albany General Hospital, but only $179 for a fast food place.
Street fees may be common among Oregon cities, as the council has been told. But I was struck by the fundamental unfairness of charging utility customers on the basis of trips they may or may not make, and then charging their potential destinations too.
That’s why the fuel tax, no matter how unpopular it may be, is the only fair way to raise money for streets that automobiles use and wear out. (hh)
The question you should be asking is how many people are on the asphalt crew and what do they do for the rest off the year? What’s to stop then from doing a 100 blocks per year?
No fuel tax as fuel prices have not gone down. I have to put premium in my car because of the engine and the cost for that is currently $4.03 a gallon. When is it going to stop? It is getting harder and harder to even live any more. Why is always the solution to tax when you need money? When I need money I can’t just get a pay raise. Be real
You have to buy premium because you bought a “higher performance” engine than the plain vanilla version of your vehicle. That’s on YOU!
You only need the higher octane when you open the throttle for “performance”. Easy on the throttle and you can buy the next lower octane. Most semi new vehicles have knock sensors etc. to retard spark and fuel settings automatically, with some loss of “full performance”.
Here’s another fly in the fuel tax ointment: People owning electric vehicles do not use gas or diesel, but their vehicles do contribute to wear and tear of our streets. How will EV’s be assessed for their share of driving Albany streets?
Annie, you make a good point, there is already a fee, though a small one, and the legislature is already talking about a mileage fee. When I bought my Tesla S there was not a subsidy from the taxpayers for a couple of reasons, so for some of us, we were not paid to get an electric car. The problem that I would object to would not be paying for the use in a more substantial way, but a GPS system that the state tracks your every move like some version of Hitler that they have been talking about.
Registration cost is significantly higher.
Yes it is.
I’m sure the whole problem of funding street repair can be solved by making Pacific and Santiam into toll roads.
I would like to know why Marion county road crews are painting the streets in Albany
$18 million rolled over from the last Street budget. $400 million is taken out of Albany’s economy every two years to run this city and they don’t have enough. That is about $3000 per person (man, woman and child) per year. Albany doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem.
Maybe they can get the money by staying OUT of the real estate business.
It seems that all government in Oregon sees the public as a funding source. They apparently feel no need to live within their means, but continue to squeeze us more and more with no accountability. We’ve been hearing about a number of failed investments lately. How about run the city (and county and state) with the money provided to you? We can’t just raise more funds for your use.
Does the street crew pave all year
12th St down by Broadway is pathetic.
Hey HH, I love your reports. I would however like to remind you that streets such as 3rd have both a SE and SW. I live on 3rd SW and have had much difficulty with others not paying attention to this. I would politely ask that you include the distinction in your reports. Have you normalize the disregard for this distinction is not going to help. Please and thank you, with all respect.