As we all know, there has been one thing on the road that we all tend to sway away from. Aside from cops, the answer is toll roads. Toll roads has been this infamous infrastructure that we all tend to hate, especially when it is between your home and work/school. But why is that? Do we even know their purpose?
According to an article on the Texas Tribune titled "Tolling Texans: More Cities Planning Toll Lanes," more and more cities in Texas are starting to implement toll roads in addition to highways or alongside free roads. The author Aman Batheja believes that this is all part of a trend of public officials finding themselves with little tax revenue to spend on new roads. According to Batheja, "the addition of toll lanes can bridge the gap in financing for major highway projects and many more." She also states that the addition to toll roads, "highways will become less congestive and will save gas...gas that you would be using just mindlessly sitting in traffic." In head of Houston's toll roads, many big Texas cities like Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth and El Paso have all considered adding toll lanes to many highway projects, according to transportation officials in those cities.
The real question would be if this is worth it or not? If you think of it economically, then the answer would be yes. Toll roads will give congestion relief to highways and will pay off over time; implying that the toll range be anywhere from 75 cents to 5 dollars. People will take these roads to avoid the rush hour and will stay their permanently which will pay off the debt eventually. But if you think of it ethnically, not quite. Its almost like creating a brand new highway (which costs a lot of money) to make a system that helps create more money (which is what they're looking for). Kind of a tug and pull type of management with no quick benefits, especially when most of the day the roads will be free of congestion. Another study shows that this will benefit by lowering carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere by processes of allowing transit buses, registered van pools, emergency vehicles, etc to move in and out of toll roads for free (quicker than taking the high way) which enforces car pooling. But that raises the last question that is if this is worth it or not? Government funding is used to fund this project and the outcome may or may not be good news according to those who agrees and/or disagrees.
Mr. Pham,
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this on your blog! This was an interesting read. I feel that, in time, the toll ways will be worth the investments. The Texas population is growing exponentially
(especially in the cities), and everyone has places to go. Its needless to say that the more roads we build, it will be more space for drivers to take up and get from point A to B wasting the least amount of time and Carbon Dioxide emitted from those drivers as possible.
True, this will cost the State a ton of money, but this is a long term benefit.
From the view of this blogger toll roads have very few pro aspects. First off the idea the existing roads would be converted in to toll roads blows my mind. First how would charging people to drive on road that the already drive on improve traffic? Also tax payer dollars have already paid for the road, so we as taxpayers are having to pay for something we already bought.
ReplyDeleteThe problem does not just lie in tolling existing roads but also in building new toll roads. Tolls road were originally suppose to be self supporting. However the toll roads are far from being self supporting and are actually subsidized. A Statesman article in it is stated that, "Tolls and other revenue have fallen more than $100 million short of covering debt and operating costs of the state's three-road Central Texas Turnpike System since the highways opened about four years ago. Texas Department of Transportation subsidies almost 70 percent more than originally predicted have made up the difference." So once again in this fine country taxpayer dollars are having to pay to support private institutions, and then are charged for the services of said institutions.
-Robert Feller
Jimmy Pham's blog post about toll roads enlightened me. I see toll roads as a premium service for drivers to avoid the daily traffic jams. This view stands. But I never thought that the toll roads themselves might harm Texas' economy. However, this post had me wondering: if there is a major downside, then why do Texas drivers voluntarily use this service? Yes, the Government's decision to fund toll roads rather than creating new highways seems odd. Nevertheless, the toll road's positives outweigh its negatives.
ReplyDeleteThe toll roads are the answer to relieving daily traffic. There is no argument there. Furthermore, the toll roads create a steady stream of revenue from the drivers. The toll seems small, but once you add up the number of drivers that use the toll roads, the coins quickly add up to a hefty chunk of change. This idea alone makes my eyes twinkle because I love when a genius plan, the toll, pays off. No pun intended. Unfortunately, every plan has its downside.
The major drawback of the toll road is its foundation: its toll. Why doesn't the Government just create new highways that don't have a toll? That's easier said than done. Where does that imaginary money come from? It comes from us, the taxpayers. The enticing part of the toll is that people pay a small fee, and they are able to breeze by traffic. The wind blows through our hair or lack thereof. This enjoyment is all uninterrupted. That's the best part! Unfortunately, there is the question of people abusing the toll roads without payment. But the joke is on those fools because surveillance captures any vehicle that passes by the station. And they send a letter out to the driver's address. This is from experience, so take my word on it.
Toll roads receive two thumbs up! We pay money at the toll booth to use its service; that sounds like a fair trade.