It seems that the use of studded tires has been a perennial hot topic in Oregon. And the debate has been renewed.
The consumer columnist for The Oregonian, Joseph Rose, recently wrote about how “a citizen activist” in the state this summer plans to rev up a campaign to get a studded-tire ban on the 2012 ballot in Oregon. http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting/2010/04/anti-studded_tires_campaign_la.html
And this initiative already has a website, http://www.banstuddedtires.com/ , up for its campaign.
The activist pushing for the anti-stud ban is Jeff Bernards, who is like Don Quixote in his quest to “save Oregon’s roads and budgets from senseless waste.” But it’s apparently been a tough sell. The state Legislature has been rejecting passing such a ban since 1974.
The anti-tire stud group and Rose maintain that the studs do $40 million in damage annually to the state’s roads,
Another Oregon columnist, Patrick Emerson of The Oregon Business Report, seemed amused about the brouhaha. http://oregonbusinessreport.com/2010/05/debated-renewed-over-studded-tire-ban-tax/
Both Wisconsin and Minnesota ban studded tires, according to Emerson, who spent many years living in Wisconsin.
In the case of Oregon, he cited one economist’s suggestion, which is to add a tax to studded tires to pay to repair the damage they do to roads.
But we liked the comment that one man, who is against the stud-ban, put on Emerson’s blog.
“What’s the cost of driving up 99E along the river from Oregon City to Canby, spinning out on the ice and getting killed?” Matthew asked.
We’re with him.
