Toll Roads

It eventually comes up in every region. Toll roads.

The problem is that all these proposals are essentially double-dipping taxes. Gas taxes are a user fee that we're already using to pay for roads. But you still have to pay tax on the gas you use to drive on the toll roads. Two user fees for the same activity. That's just not fair.

But let's put that aside for the moment, and look at some of the roads they're proposing to use a toll for, and examine why a toll is not appropriate for those roads. (Have I already exposed my bias?)

First up, I-205 from Oregon City to Tualatin. The first thing that will happen is long-distance truckers will avoid I-205, and instead take I-5 through Portland. You think the Twilliger Curves are fun now? Wait until you're surrounded by semis as you navigate them. The second thing that would happen is more local people would start using the local roads. East-west routes from Lake Oswego to Canby will see traffic volumes they were never built for. Of all the proposals, this would be the worst.

Second proposal: The proposed Sunrise Highway from Clackamas to Damascus. Who's going to use this road if it's a tollway? Most of the traffic problems on Oregon 212/224 are because of the trucks and workers in the huge industrial parks. Even if the Sunrise is built as a freeway, that traffic wouldn't use it. Once the entire Sunrise is completed all the way to US-26, it will form a potential alternate route for long-distance travelers to avoid I-84 through the Columbia Gorge, but that won't happen with just the first phase. If the first phase is a tollway, it'll essentially be an empty road, and no one will ever build the remaining phases to complete the highway.

The proposal for OR-217 involves not making the whole road a tollway: Only the new lanes would have a toll. I have no faith that the technology works well enough to make this feasible, and I doubt that the honor system will work. They say that the people in the free lanes will benefit because some traffic will use the toll lanes instead, but if the free lanes really are benefiting, why would anyone pay the toll? When equilibrium sets in, the regular lanes will still be jammed tight during rush hours, and the new toll lanes won't produce a cent of revenue any other time of the day. Safety will be compromised in the off-hours because people will choose to stay in close quarters. During peak hours, rich guys who don't care if they spend a few bucks on a toll will speed down the toll lanes, waiting until the very last second to cut-across the free lanes to get to their exit. It'll be a royal mess. And that doesn't even start to address the message that only people with money for tolls deserve to get traffic relief.

The Interstate Bridge might see a toll to fund a new bridge. I'm sure that all the people who live in Vancouver, and work in Portland will love that one. They're already paying Oregon income taxes, and Washington sales taxes. And people expect them to pay a toll, too? The Sam Jackson Bridge and the Banfield will be the alternate routes everyone flocks to.

Okay, now for the good news: The Newberg-Dundee by-pass for 99W. Yes, 99W is packed going through these towns. A by-pass would benefit people driving to the coast, as well as traffic bound for the west side of the valley. And in this case, there will be a better balance of people choosing to pay the toll versus people still willing to drive through town. And while the people of Newberg and Dundee may think they want to get rid of all the traffic going through town, they really shouldn't. Take away all the traffic, as a free bypass would do, and there will be a lot of businesses that won't be able to stay open. Leave some traffic in town, and their economies might not be ruined. And people who want to get to Spirit Mountain will get a better pay-off from their toll than they would if they saved that money for the casino.

So one out of five. That's not bad, considering my bias against toll roads.

That's how I see things.