Updated 11/2/03
Do you think tolls are a good and fair way to pay for a road? If yes, then why not apply the same reason and logic to MORE roads? If you're against removing tolls because your taxes would go up, then it stands to reason that our taxes would go down if we added tolls to Rt. 78. ...and 80, 195, 280, 287, 295, etc. How about it toll lovers, put up or shut up:
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Yes, I support tolls!
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Think it's not feasible to add more tolls?
How to add tolls to every road:
More tolls might already be in the works. The federal government has already proposed allowing states to add tolls on interstates, and NJ has already considered adding them to Rt. 287 under the guise of forcing trucks back to the toll roads. But how could they do it without traffic grinding to a halt? E-Z! They only need two things:
High speed E-ZPass so traffic moves as if there were no barriers.
Once you have that, toll sensors can easily be added anywhere and everywhere. Think about it. They're already talking about installing high speed E-ZPass. And NJ recently discontinued tokens and started giving discounts for E-ZPass to force people to sign up. What next? How about smart licence plates with E-ZPass built in? Out of state drivers without E-ZPass? Just have a few tollbooths at the state lines which sell something akin to E-ZPass metro cards. Far fetched? I don't think so.
Tolls everywhere would be absolutely fair - drive a mile, pay for a mile (...and the toll system, of course). And when this toll nirvana is finally reached, it will accomplish exactly what the gas tax already does, but at tremendous additional cost. Then NJ can remove the entire 10.5¢ state gas tax, saving me about $50 per year, and charge me 35¢ for each of the three major roads I use to and from work, costing me over $500 per year.
Choose wisely, people. If you don't want tolls on YOUR roads, fight ALL tolls now. They will invent a High Speed E-ZPass that will minimize congestion, pollution, aggravation, and accidents, and it will eventually be as fair as the gas tax when it is on every road. But they will NEVER make a system that doesn't waste a lot of money in the process. The choice is yours, people. I don't know about you, but I'd rather my money be spent on roads, not on more tolls.
One more thing...
I do not use toll roads. I fight tolls strictly because of the waste, pollution, congestion, aggravation, and accidents. And what bothers me most is the unfair treatment of a group of people who pay the same taxes as I do, need roads the same as I do, but are forced to not only pay tolls for their road, but taxes for my roads as well.
So if we lose our fight to remove tolls from the Parkway, I will start a new web campaign and use all of your arguments to add tolls to more roads. So, when you're paying hundreds of dollars more per year, waiting in line at a tollbooth, balancing your E-ZPass statement, or fighting an E-ZPass billing error, just remember that you considered this a "fair and good" way to pay for roads. So be careful what you wish for.
You're welcome,
Jim Padykula
webmaster
