Traffic moves on U.S. 36 in Broomfield on Feb. 13, 2014. (Karl Gehring, Denver Post file)
Re: “U.S. 36 tolls need more local input,” March 7 editorial.
Two words in your editorial show why “more local input” is irrelevant: expected profits. Now that government has decided to privatize roadways, profits will need to be considered first.
Government historically taxed the people to pay for things the people could not do on their own. Building a system of roads was one of them. When tolls were used, they were to pay for construction and maintenance of the road for the people. The original U.S. 36 was a road built with tolls.
Now the government has allowed a middleman to make a profit. That money could have been better used to build and maintain roads locally.
U.S. 36 is, of course, not the only “for profit” roadway. The Northwest Parkway is already in that category and Interstate 70 is next. It is just too bad the public won’t benefit from the profits.
Linda Hamilton,Denver
This letter was published in the March 10 edition.
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