Matthew Chudoba

By now, we have all seen and heard that as of last Friday, Kyle Rittenhouse is a free man.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey might have folded a few years ago, but don’t worry Connecticut, there’s a new circus in town. It’s called CT2030. With all of the changes the transportation plan has undergone since Gov. Ned Lamont first unveiled it last November, the only reasonable take away is that the “2030” part of it meant 2,030 different versions.

I applaud Gov. Ned Lamont for being bold in putting forth his $21 billion transportation plan to upgrade Connecticut’s infrastructure. Is it perfect? No, but it’s very much realistic, and something as comprehensive as this is long overdue. Now that we know what it entails, it’s imperative that the Lamont administration doesn’t make the same mistakes of the past, namely, sabotaging its chances of moving this plan forward because of an incoherent communications strategy.

While I continue to believe a user fee is the best way to address the poor condition of roads and bridges in Connecticut (rated a “C-” by the American Society of Civil Engineers), here is a novel idea for those against tolls/increases in the gas tax: crowdfunding. Albeit my knowledge of the topic is rather limited (I am familiar with crowdfunding as it relates to real estate given my profession), I do think it would make some sense to at least broach the topic for conversation.

In this time of partisan gridlock, here is something that will shock you: I am a Republican and I am in full support of tolls in the state of Connecticut.