Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Streetsblog

America’s Myopic Public Debate About Tolling Roads

10:53 AM EDT on July 22, 2014

A tolling holiday on the SR 520 bridge in Seattle would likely make traffic worse during a construction project, but that's what some have demanded. Photo: Marc Smith, Flickr
Suspending tolls on the SR 520 bridge in Seattle would likely make traffic worse during a construction project, but that's what some motorists say they want. Photo: Marc Smith/Flickr
false

Seattle is getting ready to embark on a construction project that will put the squeeze on a few of its major highways. This event, ironically, served as a jumping off point for local media to indignantly demand a tolling "holiday" on the SR 520 floating bridge.

Martin Duke at Seattle Transit Blog said the episode illustrates the absurdity of the debate about highway tolling:

The idea that tolling is some insidious stealth tax, or a fundamental violation of the inalienable right to drive anywhere, for free, with unlimited subsidy is a well-established cancer on the Puget Sound’s discourse.

Spending hundreds of millions of dollars to expand our highway capacity and “ease congestion” does massive damage to the environment and ends up inducing the same congestion. But in that debate, the establishment wrings its hands about the economy and the need to move freight around, because time is money. When maintenance dramatically reduces highway capacity, however, no one cares enough about businesses to do the one thing that might help.

I agree that freight operators, the handyman with his tools, and so on need uncongested highways. And because shorter trips on the highway feed directly into their bottom line, tolls are but a fraction of the cost of sitting in traffic because there’s no alternative. The answer, if policymakers really care about businesses like PCC Logistics, is not to suspend the toll but raise the toll to whatever level keeps 520 free-flowing this week.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Counting Pantographs offers an interesting discussion about how sprawl affects the Mormon Church. Greater Greater Washington talks to activists trying to improve the impact of a Metro construction project on public space in Silver Spring. And the City Fix explains how congestion pricing could help reduce inequality in Beijing.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

The Explainer: What’s Next for Congestion Pricing?

Let's run through the major issues still looming over New York City's first-in-the-nation congestion toll.

December 4, 2023

Monday’s Headlines: Congestion Ahead Edition

Good news: We're not going to start our week with our typical ascent on our long-legged steed to criticize the Times for its flawed, car-centric coverage. Plus other news.

December 4, 2023

Elon Musk’s Cybertruck is the Perfect Killing Machine

The Cybertruck represents a lot of what's wrong with the U.S. transportation system — even as it purports to address those problems.

December 4, 2023

Highway Boondoggles 2023: Salt Lake Shenanigans

Plans for a major freeway expansion based on over-inflated traffic projections are a wrongheaded way to deal with the region’s rapid population growth.

December 3, 2023

Cycle of Rage: Mayor is Failing the Leadership Test on Congestion Pricing

Purely for political and self-serving purposes, Mayor Adams is attacking congestion pricing — and, in doing so, is undermining the implementation of a program that he has long claimed to be a "strong" supporter of.

December 1, 2023
See all posts