The Coalition to Build the Inner Purple Line has correctly figured out that the Governor's budget plan for the next six years contains no money to build the Purple Line. The Coalition's recent newsletter calls on supporters (in boldface no less) to press legislators to up the gas tax to fund the Purple Line:
Enhancing the transportation funding package with a gasoline tax increase would ensure that those who use the roads share the burden of road maintenance, and at the same time would provide revenues needed to build the Purple Line.Utterly false. Let's imagine that a gax tax increase brings in another $200 million. Thirty percent of that amount gets sent to the counties to spend on transportation. No county, including Montgomery, is going to give up its share anytime soon, so only $140 million is left for the State after the checks to the counties have been cut.
However, this money would not be spent on the Purple Line. For starters, the Baltimore Red Line is clearly at the front of the light rail train in the governor's mind and, more importantly, his budget. Second, other areas of the State have to receive their share of funding for projects in their area and the Montgomery-Prince George's share of the gas tax would not be sufficient to fund such a megaproject. Third, Montgomery County has designated numerous other transportation projects ahead of the Purple Line for funding.
So don't waste a tank of gas driving down to Annapolis to lobby for a gas tax increase in the hopes of seeing the Purple Line sooner. A gas tax increase may serve a variety of useful purposes as County Executive Ike Leggett has argued. But building the Purple Line won't be one of them.
