Published on May 2, 2018
Last week, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan proposed instituting a toll on downtown roads to curb congestion. The Seattle Times examined the potential benefits and implications of the toll. In unpacking the possible equity issues, the Times turned to a 2009 study conducted by Affiliate Jennifer Romich, Associate Professor at the School of Social Work; Affiliate Robert Plotnick, Professor Emeritus at the Evans School of Public Policy and Governance; and Matthew Dunbar, Assistant Director at the Center for Studies in Demographics and Ecology and GIS Specialist. Their research concluded that, in general, low-income drivers use tolled roads less frequently than high-income drivers. But for a small portion of the low-income population who had no alternative but to use tolled roads, the costs could absorb up to 15% of their annual income.
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Originally posted on The Seattle Times by Danny Westneat