Kendrick Wilson

The little gremlins from that bastion of pro-developer sentiment to the north are at it again. This time, they'd like you to add a half-cent to your sales tax in order to pay the costs of unchecked urban sprawl in Phoenix. How nice of them to include Tucson taxpayers, many of whom do not share Phoenician attitudes toward growth.

A new proposal, already dubbed the "Phoenix plan" in Friday's Arizona Daily Star, would increase the statewide sales tax by a half-cent to pay for transportation improvements. This plan is very similar to a Tucson proposal last May that was overwhelmingly defeated by voters.

This plan would be administered by the state. Phoenix Mayor Skip Rimsza is already pushing the plan, and says Pima county will see a great deal of the money they pay in the form of road improvements. He may be sincere, but the state's record shows otherwise. Anyone who wants proof need look no further than Phoenix's roads, which are all but paved with gold. Phoenix has received more than the lion's share of state money for as long as anyone with a pulse in this state can remember. Don't expect that Euclid or Campbell Avenues will be improved until Phoenicians have every last freeway their hearts desire.

A sales tax to pay for transportation is regressive as well. A gasoline tax would be far more equitable and would encourage people to drive less, which would also reduce congestion. While Tucsonans have shown support for an increased gasoline tax in poll after poll, Phoenicians are too busy cruising their freeways in their Ford Excursions, uninterested in paying to cure the congestion they help create.

No one could seriously argue that Tucson does not need to improve its roads. Indeed, many roads and intersections do need to be widened. Nonetheless, to move forward with nothing but widening like a blindered horse would be a mistake that would hurt our community for decades to come. Light rail must be part of any truly comprehensive transportation solution. This sales tax does not provide any solutions that could hope to do more than turn Tucson into Phoenix and Phoenix into Los Angeles.

Additionally, the notion that transportation is the most pressing issue in our state could not be further out of touch. Education and health care undeniably top the list. If the state is going to approve a new tax, transportation is not where the money is most sorely needed.

Ann VerSteeg, a psychology junior, believes education is the most pressing issue facing our state. "Education definitely needs the money more than anything else in Arizona," she said.

Rimsza believes his city's freeway system, which according to the Star serves a metropolis that attracts nearly 90,000 new residents a year, should be a blueprint for other parts of the state. "Pima county and Tucson need desperately to build additional transportation and infrastructure," he preached in his infinite Phoenician wisdom. Perhaps Tucsonans aren't interested in living in Phoenix and don't want their community turned into a maze of concrete jungles where nearby mountains can't be seen for the smog.

When speaking about the city's plan last May, former city council candidate and community activist Gayle Hartmann explained how this type of transportation plan only treats the problem symptomatically. "This [plan] asks for money to deal with a problem brought on by urban sprawl, but it doesn't address the underlying problem of sprawl at all," she said.

Indeed, this statewide plan does nothing to address the underlying problem of sprawl either. In fact, it encourages more urban sprawl, and forces Tucson taxpayers to pay for freeways Phoenix now needs to catch up to the feverish pace development has taken up there.

They should have thought twice before trying to attract so many people to their community. Tucson voters should send a resounding "No" when asked to pay for Phoenix's past mistakes and should oppose this deeply flawed plan that will serve only to hurt Tucson.