The Case For Toll Roads

High-occupancy toll lanes work best on high-traffic roads. Without congestion, drivers have little incentive to pay the toll.

1 minute read

May 15, 2002, 5:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"Creation of both HOV and HOT lanes is much more acceptable if it is done by adding capacity to an existing road. Conversion of existing lanes reduces the overall capacity of the road, thereby increasing congestion on the remaining normal lanes. Yet the new HOV or HOT lanes are clearly less congested than the remaining normal lanes. So the peak-hour drivers still on normal lanes realize they have been penalized with greater delays to benefit people using the HOV or HOT lanes. This will enrage many drivers, who will vehemently protest to public officials, often causing speedy reversal of such conversions."

Thanks to Governing.com

Wednesday, May 15, 2002 in Governing

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

A road in north eastern Nebraska with power lines on either side, and grassy fields.

Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity

Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.

November 6, 2026 - Grist

People walking in downtown St. Louis, walking past shops.

Move over, LA: St. Louis gears up for Olympics, invests millions in downtown redevelopment

The Missouri city will host the 2028 Olympic soccer group stage and knockout matches.

November 1, 2026 - Smart Cities Dive

Construction in Hawaii, with cranes in front of a lush mountain.

California, Hawaii, Rhode Island approve housing propositions

Hawaii and Rhode Island each approved their sole proposition, while California approved two of its three.

30 minutes ago - Smart Cities Dive

An Amtrak train pulls into a station in chicago.

Officials claim feds 'rushed' Amtrak environmental review

Amtrak plans to move their Chicago maintenance facility from an industrial area to a residential one.

1 hour ago - Block Club Chicago

A car drives through a puddle in NYC

NYC breaks ground on anti-flooding infrastructure project

New York City's new system will reduce stormwater flows to local sewers by 90%.

November 9 - Smart Cities Dive

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.