Letter of the Day: Paying for roads

<p><b>Paying for roads</b></p><p>EDITOR: Several years ago I visited a friend in Laytonville, and I commented on her gravel road. She replied, “We replace our tires a lot up here.”</p><p>Two years ago, my bicycle tire went flat as I drove down Roblar Road near the old dump. I had dropped into a half-inch deep pothole. That was the end of biking for me since I live on Roblar and that pothole hasn't been filled. There are many more like it.</p><p>In 1976, I rode through Nebraska and marveled at the dirt roads in townships. Dirt roads in America. After driving around in Ukraine, I can tell you that their roads are awful. People easily evade taxes in their underground economy.</p><p>In Germany, their roads are excellent, but they pay higher taxes.</p><p>People may not want to pay taxes, but they're going to buy more tires as our roads turn to gravel. Whether it's through higher taxes or more tires, we'll be paying more to drive our cars.</p><p>HANS BEERBAUM</p><p>Petaluma</p>