A penny for transit in Broward

There’s a lot to like about Broward County’s one-cent sales-tax increase proposal for transportation and infrastructure investments.

We all know that traffic congestion is a big problem and that it will only get worse unless we take action to prevent it.

Traffic signals need to be better synchronized to improve traffic flow. Nothing is more frustrating than to be stopped at a traffic signal when there is no crossing traffic. And pedestrians hate to wait an inordinate amount of time for a signal to change.

One of the best features of the Broward proposal is the lack of a formal spending plan so that plans can evolve over the 30 years the tax would be in effect as needs and technology change. Just envision how roads and rights-of-way will be redesigned for self-driving cars. Even now sensors and cameras all around newer cars assist drivers in monitoring blind spots, backing up, preventing lane drifting and reducing the incidences of rear-end collisions.

No one likes a tax increase, but Broward taxpayers understand the need to repave streets, improve traffic flow, add more buses to reduce wait time and expand the planned Wave electric streetcar system.

Safety As Floridians Expect (SAFE) expects the voters in Broward County to overwhelmingly support their tax increase, and for all the right reasons.

This story was originally published April 24, 2016 at 10:56 PM with the headline "A penny for transit in Broward."