A website formed last week by an Oregon resident is the start of a campaign to get a studded tire ban on the state’s 2012 ballot.
On the site banstuddedtires.com citizen activist Jeff Bernards explains why he thinks a ban is needed:
“After years of frustration contacting our political leaders about the burden studded tires are causing taxpayers, it became obvious no action was going to be taken on their part. I’ve been left no choice but to proceed with a state initiative to ‘Ban Studded Tires’ in the Oregon. This is a huge undertaking; there are no political motives or hidden agendas. Our goal is to make our roads safe year round, protect the huge investments we’ve made in our roads and free up ‘wasted’ money fixing the damage caused by studded tires."
Annually, studded tires cause more than $40 million in damage to roads statewide, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation. Proposals to ban the tires have gone flat in the Legislature since 1974.
This summer, Bernards plans to collect signatures 82,000 are needed in support of a ban.