May 29, 2008

The Toll Road Era

Posted at 1:37 PM by Stephen Jackson

The start of the toll road era is just days away unless public opinion sways the minds of legislators either now or before the roads eventually open. If nothing changes the course we are on, get ready to pay-as-you-go.

Both the Governor's budget and House budget recommendations slice money from the General Fund for toll road funding. This morning the House Transportation Appropriations sub-committee voted to recommend taking $25 million from the General Fund every year starting now for use as gap funding for the extension of I 540 to Holly Springs, the so-called Triangle Expressway.

They further recommended that another $24 million be taken out every year starting next year, 2008-09, to be used as gap funding for the Monroe toll road, which apparently looks set to zoom over some delicate marshland areas near Charlotte causing a great deal of harm to an endangered species, the Carolina Heelsplitter Mussel.

There is chatter that the Senate wants to schedule a further deduction from the General Fund, possibly in 2009-10, to pay the gap funding for the Gaston toll road.

(Gap funding is the extra cash needed to pay for the capital loan. Toll revenues rarely cover the cost of servicing the debt on a toll project.)

The print and electronic media have been strangely quiet on the issue. We've had some stories about the technical issues associated with tolling (yawn),  but I'm more concerned about tolls and their effect on household budgets already stretched by rising gas prices, not to mention the implications that a toll road has for the maintenance of existing and alternative routes.

When a toll road company or authority has toll targets, you can bet your last dollar for gas that they will be lobbying or have written into contracts that alternative routes can't compete too much so as to lower toll revenues. In other countries, these "no competition" clauses are very controversial. At the more benign level, these clauses mean frontage roads and alternative routes get new (slower) speed limits, more traffic lights and traffic calming techniques designed to reduce and slow traffic.

Now this is all very well if done with good intentions. To improve a street or road for walking, to make an area quieter or to improve accessability. But if the intention is just to slow traffic and force it onto a toll road, then the frustration factor will almost certainly outweigh the benefits. It is also plain unfair.

At the far-from-benign level, there are widespread experiences elsewhere where toll projects have resulted in street and road closures in order to force traffic onto tolled roads, or reduced maintenance programs so as to reduce capacity and drivability of alternate routes. Or how about this one: limiting public transportation options to ensure toll revenue targets are met.

The issue of fairness in the Toll Road Era is not just about paying to drive but is also about the effect toll projects have on the rest of our transportation infrastructure. Toll projects must generate a revenue stream. Reducing competition or other transportation options is a logical strategy toll project companies and authorities pursue to secure that revenue stream and make targets.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • email

1 Comment

1 Comment Add yours »

The Progressive Pulse – Highway bond-doggle unlikely, now let’s stop toll roads 9 Jun 2008 9:22 am

[...] It also makes sense to wait until public confidence is restored in DOT before borrowing billions more for it to (mis)manage. Now if we can just get lawmakers to give up on building tolls roads this session too. Stephen Jackson with the N.C. Budget and Tax Center recently laid out the case against charging more… [...]

Add your comment

Please keep comments on topic and be respectful of other commenters. Inflammatory comments will be edited or removed.

Search

Previous Posts

  1. Top of the morning
  2. The value of quality early education demonstrated again in Tennessee study
  3. Forum on Latino children draws a crowd
  4. March for immigrant justice and against racial profiling today

NC Policy Watch