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See list of suggested roads mayor's new tax would fix

6 years 7 months 3 weeks ago Wednesday, July 26 2017 Jul 26, 2017 July 26, 2017 2:24 PM July 26, 2017 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE – The mayor's new property tax proposal goes before Metro Council for its first appearance Wednesday.

The council is expected to introduce the tax and debate whether or not it should make its way to a parish-wide vote on the November ballot. Voters then would have the final say on if the property tax would be levied.

The property tax would cost homeowners about half of the levy for the CATS tax, a separate tax that funds operations of the city's public transit system. The two taxes are not connected.

Documents obtained by WBRZ ahead of the meeting Wednesday show the mayor's office has selected 22 roads for major upgrades, seven for signal synchronization ten for minor repairs and other enhancements and additional upgrades to the city's internal infrastructure dealing with traffic management and stop light controls.

The total price for everything is estimated to be about $540.4 million – it appears the city would get some funding from other sources and would need to pay for a total of $445.5 million.

Among the roads that could get the most amount of work are Pride Port Hudson, parts of Highland, Hooper, Frenchtown, Old Hammond Highway, Greenwell Street at Airline, Mickens, Hoo Shoo Too, Tiger Bend, parts of Jefferson, Hennessy, Lee Drive and parts of Nicholson between LSU and Brightside.

“The  Department of Public Works, in collaboration with CSRS, has selected these projects based on the need to increase mobility and connectivity in the parish and to alleviate traffic congestion.  The plan also includes the projects to be completed with the re-dedication of the 1/2 cent sales tax.  We are also proposing to dedicate a portion of the funds to support any regional transportation planning effort,” the mayor's office wrote to the council when it asked for support of the tax plan.

Click HERE to see the entire list of projects.  The far left column details the road area, the far right column outlines the suggested plans - from widening to sidewalks, etc. 

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Follow the publisher of this post on Twitter: @treyschmaltz

EDITOR's NOTE: Correction made to reflect cost of road projects to be $540.4 million.

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