In a previous blog post, my discussion of externalities, public goods and roads spurred an unexpectedly lengthy set of posts and repostes. In this article, I want to address a trickier topic: Whether road users have effectively shifted the burden for paying for roads to non-users and whether the reason we pay for roads out of general taxes is a result of that lobbying effort.
Toll Roads
Expressway Construction Faces Challenges
According to Tollroads News, "Without any tolling option, New York State DOT has been forced to drop a long planned rebuild of an old segment of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway (BQE) and a portion of the Gowanus Expressway, both I-278 in Brooklyn."
Tollroads News
Tropical Island Gets Its First Expressway
Sri Lanka, an island nation of 20 million people, has just completed its first express highway, which, as Toll Roads News is quick to point out, is financed through a toll system.
TOLLROADSnews
Free Interstate Lanes Must Remain Free, States John Mica
House Transportation And Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica, R-Fl, in this opinion in the Orlando Sentinel, states his position on tolling the nation's interstate highways. He supports tolling only if applied to newly constructed lanes.
Orlando Sentinel - Opinion
Tolls Could Be Key to Rebuilding Highway System
With the cost of maintaining highways growing exponentially, Peter Samuel of TollRoadsNews comments on the real possibilities for using tolls to fund highway projects.
TOLLROADSnews
Labeling the Gas Tax
The gas tax should be viewed as that, a tax, and anything else is fundamentally wrong, writes Alex Marshall.
Governing
When is a Freeway Not a Freeway?
When there is a toll, of course. But the Federal Highway Administration uses the word indiscriminately, confusing the matter, writes Peter Samuel of Toll Roads News.
TOLLROADSnews
Could More Tolling Replace the Gas Tax?
Melissa Lafsky at The Infrastructurist poses the question. With raising the gas tax a political impossibility, how can we repair our ailing infrastructure? A lot more toll roads, says Lafsky.
The Infrastructurist
Texas Toll Roads Go Cash Free
North Texas Tollway (NTTA) has announced their intention to go all electronic for their toll roads by the end of the year, and Florida will soon follow.
TOLLROADSnews
Paying Toll at a Tollbooth? There's An App For That
Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) is about to test run a system where drivers can pay their toll using only their iPhone, Blackberry, or MS Windows Mobile-enabled phone.
TOLLROADSnews
The Age of Tolls
Robert McCartney reports on the coming onslaught of toll roads in the D.C. area, and the possibility of a 'vehicle miles traveled' option in the future.
The Washington Post
Toll Road Fiasco in Ohio
Last week, the Ohio Turnpike debuted its E-Z Pass toll system -- with disastrous results, says TollRoadsNews.
TOLLROADSnews
Hi-Tech Highway Coming To North Carolina
Groundbreaking for the nation's most technologically highway, a toll road, occurred on August 12 in North Carolina. Attended by Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez, the 19 mile road will have no toll booths. It is expected to open 2011.
The Fast Lane
Miami-Dade Busway Could Open Up to Cars
Officials in Miami-Dade County are considering a move to lift car restrictions from an underused two-lane commuter busway. One plan is to convert the busway into a tollroad.
The Miami Herald
Japan's Stimulus Package Lowers Highway Tolls To Stimulate Travel
Japan's four major highway operators will drastically lower their tolls, thanks to a generous government economic stimulus package aimed to encourage motoring during the major holidays. The operators are preparing for the enormous traffic jams.
Bloomberg.com
Southern California Landscape Proves the Golden Rule
The old saying is that he who has the gold, rules. The fact that Orange County motorists have a toll road carving through a magnificent canyon while rich folks in Malibu get to live next to scenic hillsides proves the rule, writes Bill Fulton.
California Planning & Development Report
The I.O.U. Tollbooth
The Northwest Parkway in Denver has very little traffic in the wee hours, so officials decided to experiment with I.O.U. forms left at the booth.
TOLLROADSnews
Opinion: Beware Toll Road Privatization
Author, WSJ columnist and Huffington Post blogger Thomas Frank cautions against the public-private partnerships that are leasing public toll roads, warning that it isn't in the public interest; that they will become affordable only to the wealthy.
The Huffington Post
Last-Minute Bush Decision Paves Way For Privatization
An obscure new rule pushed through the Federal Highway Administration requires public toll roads to collect 'fair market value' from drivers, rather than to serve the public interest.
On The Commons
LaHood Appears Before Senate Panel
Secretary of Transportation appointee Ray LaHood spoke to the Senate today about Amtrak, toll roads, and sustainability.
Grist
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