Letter to the editor: Let them pay

To the editor:

The massive amounts of commuters living in and around Topeka and driving through (or past) Lawrence to Johnson County should be looked at as an opportunity for Lawrence leaders. What could the city do to make moving to Lawrence more attractive? What percentage of the commuters are low income? Would more affordable housing help?

The Chicago Federal Reserve’s Peer City Identification tool shows that homes in Lawrence are more expensive relative to their owners’ income (a home value to income ratio of 3.7 versus 2.3 for Topeka). It also shows that a higher percentage of Lawrence residents are rent-burdened (54.2 percent versus 48 percent in Topeka). Instead of lobbying the state to expand K-10 so commuters don’t have to visit Lawrence, the city should look for ways to make residents of those same people willing to drive miles and miles and miles (and miles) for their jobs.

Failure to address these prospective residents smacks me as downright exclusionary. If the bulk of those commuting hours every morning is wealthy, what’s the problem with taxing them based on their excessive consumption? Knee-jerk opposition by city leaders and the editors of this paper to the toll road is understandable, but saddening.

Conrad John Griebel,

Lawrence

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