Everett, Wash. Published: Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Tolls must be part of our commuting future
Here's a fiscal car wreck we can all see coming:
The region's population keeps swelling, adding more commuters to the highways, which become even more congested, making upgrades to our aging roads and bridges all the more urgent. But a population that's tired of paying $3 or more for a gallon of gasoline, and has become more sensitive about how much carbon dioxide it spews into the atmosphere, buys more fuel-efficient cars, decreasing the gas-tax revenue needed to adequately build and maintain the roads.
Where will the money come from?
Tolls. The ultimate user fee.
They've gotten a generally positive response on the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge, largely because of the state's "Good To Go!" program that allows drivers to prepay into an electronic account and have tolls deducted without having to stop at a booth. Instead, a transponder on the windshield is read by an overhead device and the toll is automatically deducted from your account. Tolls across the Narrows are $1.75 if you prepay, $3 if you stop and pay cash. They're only collected one way.
Now the federal government is offering an enticement to expand tolling in Washington. It'll give Washington almost $140 million in transportation money if the state opts to put tolls on the Highway 520 bridge across Lake Washington. The Legislature and state Transportation Commission must launch the project within two years to qualify for the money.
We say grab it.
Tolling is in our future anyway, and the federal dollars will bring a new 520 bridge another step closer to reality. A new six-lane replacement for the aging span is estimated at $4.4 billion, a quarter of which would come from a roads and transit measure that will be on Puget Sound ballots in November. The rest would be paid by existing revenues and tolls.
Besides providing needed revenue, tolling offers a way to manage congestion by varying prices according to traffic flow. By charging more when congestion is worst, drivers can be encouraged to adjust their plans, carpool, take transit or bag non-essential trips altogether.
