However, the chairman of the group has sent us round some information and a request. What it amounts to is this: Sometime ago, the County put in a penny a gallon tax on gasoline which was to be used by the local community. Now, in that case, that 'local community' is us here in Point Roberts. So the first thing the Advisory folks are doing is trying to figure out what we might use that money for. At the moment, thanks to all those Canadians who come down here to buy cheaper gas, the fund for P.R. holds about $370,000. That's an economic development plan all in itself, surely.
The kicker, however---and there is always a kicker when dealing with government (not a criticism, just a recognition of inevitability)--is that the use of the money is tethered to transit. Specifically,
NOTE: These funds can only be used for “Roads and Transportation.” They cannot be used for docks or piers, lighthouses or whale watching platforms. State law limits them to “investment in new or existing highways of significance, public transportation, and other transportation projects and programs….”
In a place this small, it's a little hard to imagine too many transportation needs that involve roads. I mean, we already have roads. Of course there are things like wider shoulders for bike lanes or off road trails. Unfortunately, we are also cautioned about the costs of such things: Off-road paths: $2,000,000 per mile
Widening road shoulders: $500,000 per mile
Okay, then, we could get a short path to somewhere or a few blocks of widened shoulder and then next year we could turn it into a bike path. Oh, well.
My first thought was that there should be a transit lottery in which everyone with a permanent P.R. residence AND a car registered here would be entitled to enter the daily lottery for $1,000 worth of gasoline. That would connect it to transportation because, at least in theory, those 365 car owners could drive more than they might otherwise do. And people really seem to like lotteries. And even I might like a lottery if I didn't have to pay for a ticket and there was some reasonable chance of winning something. It seems to me as if it might easily be a 1 in 3 chances of winning $1,000 worth of gasoline in any given year. And, at a thousand dollars a day, we could use up all $370K during one year.
On the other hand, the powers might not think that was really improving roads and transportation.
But then, here's the real idea. What would improve transportation in Point Roberts? For people who are in Point Roberts and particularly those who live here? The answer to that, really, is simple: longer Nexus lane hours, both coming and going. Almost everyone who lives here has a Nexus card. So, just how many border guard salaries could we pay with our $370,000? I don't know, but surely including benefits, they don't get more than $100,000 each? (What do I know about salaries? Nothing. No one's paid me one in 15 years.) If so, that's almost four additional guards. Surely with three additional FTE salaries, both the Canadians and U.S. people could manage one extra shift for the Nexus lane each day. Opening it at 8 am, say, and keeping it open until 10 pm or later.
Somebody else can work out the money and staffing and all that. But surely there's nothing that would improve transportation in Point Roberts more than this. Take it away, Chairman Reber. The ball's in your court.
