On Nov. 7, Utah County voters will decide how to take care of our transportation problems -- now or later.

County residents will vote on raising the sales tax by a quarter-percent to provide funding for commuter rail, improved bus service and improvement of local roads.

Utahns, like most Americans, are uneasy about taxes in general, and often when asked whether they want to pay more taxes, they are likely to just say no.

But voting down this tax is a bad idea. The problem will get worse. As Utah County's population continues to grow (and there's no stopping that), the roads will become more congested. If you don't believe it, take a drive during the afternoon rush hour and you'll see it is already happening.

The situation needs to be addressed. The only question is when and how. It will cost $2.1 billion to tackle the region's transit problems, and existing funding is at $600 million, about $1.5 billion short of the goal. Waiting to scrape together enough money will only drive the price higher through inflation. Nor can we just pick one element and ignore the rest. Fixing the local roads without providing mass transit will not ease congestion on I-15 sufficiently.

The tax proposal takes a holistic approach to the traffic situation. Eight percent of the money the tax will raise will be used for improving local roads, such as State Street and Geneva Road. The remainder will be used for improving bus service in the area and bringing commuter rail into Utah County. The tax will raise $1.3 billion in 30 years, and it will allow work to begin now rather than later.

The plan is to have the road work done and rail service as far as Provo by 2011, when work is expected to begin on Interstate 15 in Utah County. That means people will have an alternate way to get to points north, including Salt Lake City, while the freeway is under construction.

The rail service would not mirror TRAX. It would involve larger trains, with cars capable of carrying 240 commuters at once. At seven cars per train, that's 1,680 people not using the freeway, and close to that many cars.

The plans also call for improving bus service in the south end of the Utah County, making it easier for people to get to Provo quickly, either to work or to hop on the train to head elsewhere. If people can get to Provo from Payson in less than an hour, they may be more inclined to take the bus rather than their own cars and thus reduce traffic.

Now, some people will argue that they are not commuters, or that they don't even drive, so why should they have to pay for a system they won't use. But that's wrong. We all depend on transit, whether we use it ourselves or not.

How does the mail get to your housefi It had to come by road at some point. The food and goods at the local store don't just materialize out of thin air. They have to be brought in by trucks using the interstate and local roads.

If the transportation system does not work properly, other parts of our society won't work as well either. It's an interconnected system and a vital element of the local economy.

Transit affects development. Companies want to make sure that their employees and suppliers can easily get to their offices and warehouses. Gridlocked roads are a deal-breaker.

Passing this tax will also help the environment. Cars are the leading source of air pollution in this valley. Anything that can encourage people to leave their cars at home and keep traffic moving smoothly will reduce air pollution.

If those are not enough reasons, think about this: The tax increase will cost the typical Utah County family $8 a month. With gasoline prices as high as they are, that's probably less than the cost of the fuel wasted idling in heavy traffic.

The sales tax option is the cheaper way, in the long run, to deal with the county's growing pains, so please vote yes.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A5.