It didn't take long for Gov. Steve Beshear and Mayor Jerry Abramson to come up with the seven people they want to serve on the bi-state authority charged with figuring out how to pay for the Ohio River Bridges Project.
Just eight days after a state transportation panel approved the creation of the bi-state authority, the Gov. and his new running mate put forth seven names. Their assignment: come up with a way to finance the bridges.
Their suggestions will likely include some form to tolling, but the group will have to make decisions on how much and which routes to toll.
Missing from Abramson's list is any member of the Metro Council, despite the fact that in a resolution that moved the process along, the Council included language requesting that it be represented.
From the July 30 resolution:
The Mayor is requested to make his/her appointments in a manner so that at least one of the four members appointed by the Mayor shall at all times be a member of the Metro Council.
The resolution was championed by Kevin Kramer and David Tandy, but ignored by the Mayor.
Beshear's nominations:
* Joe Prather, ex Transportation Cabinet secretary
* Charles Buddeke, businessman
* Jamie Fiepke, CEO of the Kentucky Motor Transportation Assn.
Abramson's nominations:
* Sandra Frazier, a public relations executive
* Dr. Charles Moyer, a U of L dean
* Joe Reagan, GLI president
* Ben Richmond, Urban League president.
It ain't called a tolling authority for nothing... ;-) Someone's going to get the snot tolled out of them to pay for this mess.
Seriously though, the supporters of ORBP should step back for just a minute and contemplate the total dollar figure here. Four billion ($4,000,000,000) dollars could accomplish quite a bit besides expanding Spaghetti Monstrosity. Hell, it would probably fund the better part of a light rail system for Louisville.
We should build the east end bridge / bypass and then stop and take a big breather. The east end bridge will only cost $1.2 billion, is massively overdue, and will relieve a ton of the congestion, pollution and traffic that the Ohio River Bridges Project (ORBP) is trying to address.
I have never seen a toll road in Louisville since I've been driving, and any road that is tolled to help pay for this mess will not be frequented by myself. I know every dark alley in this city (I've lived here all my life) and I'll avoid it as much as possible. Everyone else should too.
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Rick Redding