The Jacksonville City Council is considering amendments to the 6-cent gas tax increase proposal, which would be used to fund infrastructure projects across the city.
After hours of deliberation Wednesday night, City Council members voted to strip $132 million dollars from a proposed expansion to the Skyway that would be funded by the tax. That leaves about $240 million remaining for the expansion.
It’s a blow to the Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s plan to bring autonomous vehicles to city streets and the Skyway's existing elevated infrastructre in what the Jacksonville Transportation Authority is calling the U2C, which stands for Ultimate Urban Circulator.
Council members said they doubt the citizens of Jacksonville want to spend that much money on a piece of infrastructure that few people currently use.
Council member LeAnna Cumber is proposing to go even further and strip all the funding from the Skyway. “Certainly in my town hall, it was unanimous that no one wanted money to go to it,” she said.
Council is still expected to consider shifting money toward the Emerald Trail, which is planned to be a 30-mile bicycle/pedestrian trail and park system that would connect 14 urban core neighborhoods.
The council may also change how quickly the gas tax would rise. Voting on the amendments will continue May 20.
Contact Sydney Boles at sboles@wjct.org, or on Twitter at @sydneyboles.
Contact Sydney Boles at sboles@wjct.org, or on Twitter at @sydneyboles.
