Toll Roads

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.

August 18, 2009 - 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.

June 12, 2009 - 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.

May 5, 2009 - 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.

April 16, 2009 - 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.

April 9, 2009 - 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.

February 4, 2009 - 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.

January 24, 2009 - 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.

January 22, 2009 - Grist

San Francisco Weighs Congestion Pricing Options

Officials in San Francisco will be presented with reports today on possible ways to integrate congestion pricing and toll zones into the city. If approved, San Francisco would be the first city in the nation to implement congestion pricing.

November 25, 2008 - San Francisco Chronicle

HOT & Green Proposal For Illinois Tollway

What do you get when you designate a carpool lane on a toll road for hybrids and carpoolers? A 'green' lane, say Illinois planners. However, they still pay the toll. Now add a "HOT lane overlay" to it - solo drivers can use it for a 'premium'.

October 17, 2008 - Chicago Sun-Times

'Tolls Not Gas Tax', Says Bush

Keep gas and diesel taxes stable and add new road tolls and private investment, and the road funding deficit will be solved, according to the new Bush transportation plan released July 30.

July 31, 2008 - The Wall Street Journal

Sierra Club Opposes Use of HOV Lanes By Paying Customers

Houston's MTA is planning to allow drivers to pay a toll to use the High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane on their freeways, and the local Sierra Club chapter is speaking out against the plan.

July 23, 2008 - The Houston Chronicle

Dreaming of a Superhighway Across Maine

Officials in Maine are considering a plan to build a cross-state superhighway.

June 9, 2008 - The Ellsworth American

First Toll on a Surface Road Under Consideration

A suburb of Dallas ponders charging a toll on a surface road, perhaps the first such plan for a surface road in the United States.

June 8, 2008 - WFAA

L.A. Transit Chief Calls for Highway Tolls

In this opinion piece, Roger Snoble of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority discusses why the region's mobility would benefit from toll lanes on highways.

May 6, 2008 - The Los Angeles Times

Debating L.A.'s Growth, Traffic and Transit

The Transit Coalition's Bart Reed and USC planning Professor Peter Gordon debate transit and traffic in L.A. in this five-part point-counterpoint series.

May 6, 2008 - The Los Angeles Times

L.A. Offered Funding, With Toll Road Ultimatum

The federal government is tempting officials in Los Angeles County with more than $200 million in transportation funding -- but only if the county converts some highway lanes to congestion pricing toll lanes.

April 25, 2008 - The Los Angeles Times

Leasing Toll Roads: Learning From Indiana

While experts now say that the lease term Indiana agreed to was too long, and the payment it received in return too small, so far all parties appear to be better off –- the road, the drivers, the toll takers, the Governor, and the state.

April 15, 2008 - The New York Times

California Needs Rail, Not Roads

The recent vote against a new toll freeway in Orange County signals that California's don't want more roads. Instead, transportation dollars should go to building the state's high-speed rail system.

April 5, 2008 - The Sacramento Bee

'Make My Day' Meets 'Hasta La Vista'

In a classic Hollywood showdown that could only happen in California politics, Gov. Schwarzenegger axed actor-director-former Carmel, CA mayor Clint Eastwood from the Parks Commission at the expiration of his term after his 'no-vote' on a toll road.

March 21, 2008 - The San Francisco Chronicle

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.

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