Collaborative Conversations
Based on �Encounters: A Forum for Public Discussion� A program of the Initiative on Campus Dialogues �at the University of Connecticut-Storrs�Sponsored by the UConn Humanities Institute �and the Humility & Conviction in Public Life Project
Adapted for high schools as the pilot Collaborative Conversations� by the CT State Department of Education &
The Connecticut Democracy Center at Connecticut’s Old State House
Further adapted to focus on the mathematics at play in democratic participation.
Purposes
Bigger picture….
My goal: to think more about the role mathematics plays in democratic participation.
What kind of mathematics and ways of reasoning with mathematics are helpful for citizens as they consider public issues?
How does knowing the math/using the math provide new perspectives that perhaps aren’t accessible through description or non-quantitative means?
Today: Using a protocol (Collaborative Conversations) developed to support deliberative discussions about public issues and give people more practice in having discussions that bring in multiple viewpoints..
Collaborative Conversations
Bringing Encounters to High Schools
The Encounters/CC model for high school students has the following main features:
Roles
Roles for the day of the program: �
PILOT
ATTEMPT
Tolls In CT
Collaborative Conversations
TOLLS
on Connecticut Highways
June 2020
Introductions & Overview
Welcome! (2 mins)
Establish Roles and Table Rules (5 mins)
Round One: Timed Conversation - Individual’s share ideas (12 minutes)
Round Two: Open Conversation (10 minutes)
Round Three: Create Collaborative Questions (4 minutes)
Round Four: Expert responds and Open Forum (10 minutes)
Takeaways (7 mins)
Table Rules
Rounds
Support for Tolls in CT
https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-tolls-five-reasons-20190308-sho3zonqyngy5emam747mvjivy-story.html
1. There isn’t enough money. Connecticut’s special transportation fund is on a path to insolvency, with gasoline tax revenues flat because of more fuel-efficient vehicles and electric cars. Transportation officials say that annual maintenance alone costs $1.2 billion. So if the state is going to embark on billions of dollars of transportation projects, it will need a consistent revenue stream. The punch list of projects includes the I-84 viaduct overhaul in Hartford, the replacement of the Waterbury “mixmaster,” the junctions of I-84 and Route 8, I-95 congestion mitigation near Bridgeport and the widening of I-84 in Danbury.
2. Cars and trucks from outside Connecticut using our roads. Out-of-state motorists contribute very little to upkeep of Connecticut’s highways under the status quo, but put significant wear-and-tear on roads and bridges, especially trucks. Having tolls would allow Connecticut to capture 40 percent of that revenue from out-of-state cars, according to state Department of Transportation estimates.
Five Reasons to Support Tolls and Five Reasons to Oppose them in Connecticut
from the Hartford Courant
March 8, 2019
Support for Tolls in CT
https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-tolls-five-reasons-20190308-sho3zonqyngy5emam747mvjivy-story.html
3. Aging infrastructure. The longer that the state fails to address its aging infrastructure, the more expensive — and potentially deadly — it will be, tolling proponents say. Lest anyone forget the 1983 collapse of the Mianus River bridge in Greenwich. A 100-foot section of I-95 southbound plunged into the river, killing three people and snarling traffic for months. There are 1,465 miles of state roads and 248 bridges that are rated as poor. The average age of bridges in the state is 53 years, 11 years above the national average.
4. It’s a critical economic issue. Connecticut drivers spend a combined 81 million hours a year stuck in traffic, which transportation officials say has a cost of $1.9 billion. If Fortune 500 companies and millennial workers are going to relocate to Connecticut, tolling advocates say, the state must make it easier for people to get around.
5. We need a plan to attract federal and private money. In order to take advantage of an anticipated infrastructure boom eyed by the Trump administration and public-private partnerships, DOT officials say Connecticut needs to have a clear sense of direction in its transportation strategy with a clearly defined revenue stream.
Five Reasons to Support Tolls and Five Reasons to Oppose them in Connecticut
from the Hartford Courant
March 8, 2019
Opposing Tolls in CT
https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-tolls-five-reasons-20190308-sho3zonqyngy5emam747mvjivy-story.html
1. It already costs too much to drive here. Connecticut drivers already pay the seventh-highest gasoline taxes in the nation, which is 43.8 cents per gallon, a Tax Foundation analysis shows. The hardship of tolls, which would be 4.4 cents per mile but would go up as part of a congestion pricing plan, would be a double-whammy.
2. Any benefit from tolls is years or decades away. It’ll be years, if not decades, before the traveling public gets the benefit of massive infrastructure projects. Just look at how long it took to widen I-84 on the east side of Waterbury and to add lanes to I-95 between Stamford and Norwalk. Still unclear is whether the state will have to utilize eminent domain to accomplish these projects.
3. It’s just another tax in a high tax state. Those making a case for tolls have spurned calling it a tax. It’s a user fee, they say, just like train fares paid by Metro-North commuters. Despite the rising cost of monthly travel on the New Haven Line, the commute time to Grand Central Terminal is longer than it was 100 years ago. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for train service. And how about those standing-room-only peak trains? The governor’s transportation commissioner, Joseph
Five Reasons to Support Tolls and Five Reasons to Oppose them in Connecticut
from the Hartford Courant
March 8, 2019
Opposing Tolls in CT
https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-tolls-five-reasons-20190308-sho3zonqyngy5emam747mvjivy-story.html
4. It’s been a boondoggle in Pennsylvania. The Keystone State is a cautionary tale for Connecticut. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Authority is $11 billion in debt and is being sued by the trucking industry, which is challenging the legality of using toll fees to pay for mass transit. What’s to say that Connecticut’s tolling authority won’t become a boondoggle?
5. Tolls will create chaos for drivers. In southwestern Connecticut, exits on I-95 are spaced about one mile apart, which often makes the interstate the quickest way to zip around town. So now motorists will have to completely change their driving habits — or pay.
Five Reasons to Support Tolls and Five Reasons to Oppose them in Connecticut
from the Hartford Courant
March 8, 2019
Round 1: Question One
This article highlights the main pros and cons of adding tolls to highways in Connecticut.
For you, what are the most compelling pros and cons of having tolls on (some of) CT’s highways?
Why are these the most compelling aspects for you?
https://www.courant.com/politics/hc-pol-tolls-five-reasons-20190308-sho3zonqyngy5emam747mvjivy-story.html
Individual initial thoughts - 2 mins each
Reading 2: Selections from CT2030
Go to this Link for Reading 1:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PqWJaYFBNrokP5Ai3d6G2FZOZLyrIyM3h3BK3neU9QE/edit?usp=sharing
CT’s Gov Proposes Truck Tolls/ STF Revenue
[2019] The Special Transportation Fund (STF) is an appropriated fund, separate from the General Fund, that is dedicated to transportation purposes. The STF is funded primarily by tax revenue that state law dedicates to the fund. Nearly 50% of STF revenue comes from taxes on fuel: the motor vehicle fuels tax (including the motor carrier road tax) and the petroleum products gross earnings tax (PGET). About one quarter of STF revenue comes from specified sales and use tax diversions: 0.5% of general sales, revenue from used car sales, and a gradually increasing portion of revenue from new car sales. In addition to taxes, the law directs most transportation-related fees and motor vehicle-related fines to the fund. These sources make up 23% of STF revenue in FY 19. Other sources include interest and federal grants, which make up less than 3% of the fund. The chart to the right shows the STF revenue breakdown.
A trucks-only tolling system in Connecticut is part of the latest iteration of Gov. Ned Lamont’s transportation investment plan. The governor sent lawmakers a letter Dec. 6 outlining his plan for commercial truck tolls on 12 bridges carrying some important routes, such as state routes 8 and 15 as well as interstates 84, 95, 395 and 684. This proposal is projected to finance $19.4 billion for infrastructure investment.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled Dec. 5 that the trucking industry’s lawsuit against Rhode Island’s trucks-only tolling system is valid and can proceed in federal court. The court ruled that the lawsuit is not barred by the Tax Injunction Act, which restricts the power of federal district courts to prevent the collection or enforcement of state taxes.
Round Two: What would you support?
What kinds of initiatives would you support/vote for?
What would be aspects of a proposal for funding the state’s transportation infrastructure that would be fair?
Round Three: Collaborative Questions
Work with your group to create a question that you would like the expert to answer.
When each group has a question, one person from your table will ask it.
The expert or experts will answer your questions in an open forum discussion.
Round Four: Open Forum
The expert or experts will answer each group’s question and engage the entire room in a conversation about the topic.
Takeaways
What did we learn ...
About having conversations?
About the topic we discussed?
About ourselves?
About mathematics and/or how math might play a role in public life?
Note that you can act! Share Feedback with Gov. Lamont (only 1000 characters)
https://portal.ct.gov/Office-of-the-Governor/Contact/Email-Governor-Lamont
Thank You!v