Monday, June 18, 2012

BikeWalkLee issues background paper on mobility fees

BikeWalkLee has issued a paper on mobility fees to provide background  on a key issue to be addressed as the county begins to amend the Lee Plan to reflect the 2035 New Horizon Plan and its emphasis on complete streets, multi-modal transportation, and sustainable communities.  Below are a few excerpts.  Click here for the full paper.


State legislation now allows local governments to choose to do away with concurrency requirements and modify Level of Service (LOS) requirements.  The Lee County Comprehensive Plan amendments currently being developed by county staff will propose doing away with transportation concurrency and modifying LOS to be a multi-modal approach.  The next step in the process is to change the funding strategy to be consistent with this new approach.

Currently Lee County has a road impact fee that requires new developments to pay a proportionate share of the road infrastructure costs they impose on the community.  As the county implements a balanced multi-modal transportation system, consistent with its 2035 New Horizons Plan, the county needs to change its transportation financing system to reflect this new reality.  The most effective way to do this is for Lee County to replace its road impact fee with a mobility fee.  A mobility fee approach is also consistent with the county's complete streets policy and program; which supports streets that are safe and accessible for all users, and an effective multi-modal transportation system.

A mobility fee is a charge on all new development to provide mitigation for its impact on the transportation system.  These fees could fund multi-modal transportation improvements for roadways, transit, bikeway, and pedestrian walkways. This includes capital projects, system efficiency and congestion management improvements /strategies, and transit capital and operating costs.

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