A pair of bicyclists passed each other on the Cherry Creek bike path on July 9. (Karl Gehring, The Denver Post)
Re: “Convenience of driving is inconvenient truth,” Aug. 10 My Turn column; and “Drivers are the ones who pay the taxes to build and maintain the roads,” Aug. 17 letter to the editor.
In her Aug. 10 column, Denver Councilwoman Susan K. Shepherd spoke of the importance of infrastructure for non-motorized transportation along with motor vehicles, and said, “These people [the users] pay taxes, too.” Reader Donna Nelson took exception to this in her Aug. 17 letter, on the grounds that roads are paid for by motorists through fees and fuel taxes, not by pedestrians and bicyclists.
I would be sympathetic to Nelson’s complaint if fuel taxes and motor vehicle fees actually did cover the cost of building and maintaining roads. However, considering the state as a whole, only 55 percent of the cost is covered by Colorado and federal fuel taxes, with the remainder coming from income, property, and sales taxes (source: The Tax Foundation).
Even someone without a car pays fuel taxes indirectly, hidden within the costs of food, clothing and other goods and services. Many bicyclists and pedestrians do own vehicles on which they pay registration fees, regardless of how few miles they drive each year. The only thing they don’t pay is the fuel tax on miles they didn’t drive because they walked or cycled instead of driving.
While itap tempting to view bicyclists as freeloaders on streets paid for by motor vehicles, analysis doesn’t support that. Nobody is getting a free ride.
Dave Gillette, Golden
This letter was published in the Aug. 24 edition.
