EDMONTON, Alta. – Edmonton Mayor, Bill Smith, says Alberta should consider raising fuel taxes in order to ensure there is enough money for important road and transportation projects.

Smith says a one or two cent per litre fuel tax hike is just one of about 12 ideas the City of Edmonton is pitching to the province.

In an annual state-of-the-city address to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, Smith warned that without finding more funding, the city “Will have an infrastructure gap totaling $2.5 billion.”

Smith is confident people are willing to shell out more money at the pumps if they know the money is being well-spent on local roads.

“I’ve had a lot of people say to me that would be OK, because at least you know seven cents of what you’re paying is coming back to the city,” says Smith. Currently, the province transfers five cents per litre in fuel taxes to the cities of Calgary and Edmonton for every litre of fuel sold in those regions.