Despite the failure on Tuesday of Michigan’s Proposal 1, the Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC) is committed to continuing to seek adequate funding for the state’s roads, they stated via press release.
“I believe the failure of Prop. 1 had more to do with voters’ attitudes about the legislative process in Lansing than with the need for road funding,” stated RCOC Managing Director Dennis Kolar. “I heard frequently from voters that they were willing to pay more toward improving Michigan’s roads, but simply didn’t like Prop. 1. However, through the process of discussing Prop. 1, many voters also became much more educated about road funding.”
Kolar noted that without additional funding, roads in Oakland County will continue to deteriorate. “We know that at current funding levels we are not able to keep up with the rate of deterioration, and that, unless we receive additional funding, the roads will continue to get worse,” he stated. “But, we will continue to do everything we can – as we always have – to spread the resources we do have as far as possible.”
However, Kolar said he will immediately resume working with state legislators to encourage them to act as quickly as possible to resolve the road-funding crisis. “Time is of the essence,” he stated. “Each year that passes without a resolution to the road-funding crisis means the problem gets larger and more expensive to fix.”
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