Should tolls be eliminated
- Thread starter jsupop33
- Start date
The Founder
Well-Known Member
I hate tolls. That is all.
But to answer your question tolls are a quick way to make a buck.
But to answer your question tolls are a quick way to make a buck.
In_The_662
Deeeeep In The Delta.....
The amount of tolls around the Orlando area is ridiculous and they are usually the quickest way to get from point A to point B. I had to learn my way around the area so not to use them that much
LS Syndicate
#TheeILove
I pay about $120 a month in tolls going from my home to my job in Downtown Orlando. We don't pay state taxes in FL so that's why we have so many tolls. It's also due to demand. Orlando has about 3 million people that live in the metro area, but there can be as many as another 7 million visiting at any point in time. It's more than worth it to pay an extra $4 per day to avoid the tourists. Tampa and Miami have the same problem. Jacksonville doesn't, so they have much fewer tolls than Central and South FL.
jsupop33
Loyalty & Respect
Yeah wedding was in Tampa, we spent a few days in Miami before going to Tampa. I think it was hwy 589 that we were staying off of in Tampa. It was 78 cents every damn time we drove on the road lol.
JAG89
THE NEW AMERICA'S TEAM
Tolls are just another way of taxing people without calling it a tax and they also collect from non-residents/tourist visiting that state. In states where taxes are hard to pass, it's a lot easier to generate monies from toll roads. States that have almost no taxes and not that many toll roads are piss poor, basically southern red. I can only think of two toll roads in the entire State of Louisiana and they are both in New Orleans (the Causeway Bridge going to and from Mandeville and the New Orleans Crescent City Connector coming from the Westbank). One way or another states have to generate revenue in order to prosper and grow.
Deuce
Well-Known Member
I don't know about Orlando, but some toll roads are actually built by, and operated by private companies . . . not the state. There is one here in the Montgomery area, and I believe it is privately run (not sure). A company a few years ago wanted to build a private toll road from Montgomery to the Florida beaches . . . I believe the plan was scrapped after the economic downturn of 2008 . . . as roads and infrastructure begin to age and crumble, a lot of private companies see this as a way to move in and fill a need that cash-strapped states can't fill . . . expect to see more toll roads in the future . . .
JROCK
Preeminent
As far as I know a private company cannot build or improve a public roads without government consent and certainly can't levy taxes (w/out govt. endorsement).
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JAG89
THE NEW AMERICA'S TEAM
Basically cover the cost of road improvement without raising taxes. Baton Rouge is having a hard time trying to get funding for a much needed loop, but none of the surrounding parishes want to raise taxes and no one wants a toll road in Baton Rouge.
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Most tolling authorities never stand up to what they were intended to be. Usually they will come in and say we will build it and you will pay tolls for so many years and then it will be turned over to the state. I can't even fathom any of them ever being turned over to the state. They just continue to be cash cows for certain entities forever.
It's not just the southern states with these tolls. You should see the price of tolls in the NE portion of the US. WOW...
Whenever I travel, I always check my routes for tolls and see if there are any alternate routes that don't take too much more time to take. Even in some areas I go and use my GPS, I set it to avoid tolls so I don't accidently follow directions that take me on any toll roads.
It's not just the southern states with these tolls. You should see the price of tolls in the NE portion of the US. WOW...
Whenever I travel, I always check my routes for tolls and see if there are any alternate routes that don't take too much more time to take. Even in some areas I go and use my GPS, I set it to avoid tolls so I don't accidently follow directions that take me on any toll roads.
buckwheat1911
Well-Known Member
I think they are needed for road repairs and other state related road and infrastructure repairs.
LS Syndicate
#TheeILove
My auntie in Algiers has been complaining about that toll for the past 30 years. LOL. I told her don't come visit me in FL then. She'll have a stroke.
Olde Hornet
Well-Known Member
Tolls are in place for many different reasons, for example
1. NJ - keep low gas taxes
2. PA - the state needed to fund a needed highway
3. Orlando - tax the tourist
Most tolls systems are built by entities created by the state.
Most republicans have pledge to their anti tax god to never raise taxes, tolls allow them to keep their promise. Tolls were supposed to end when the debt was paid off, but the have become BIG burreacuries, bloated with patronage, to do up keep and improvements to the road systems.
1. NJ - keep low gas taxes
2. PA - the state needed to fund a needed highway
3. Orlando - tax the tourist
Most tolls systems are built by entities created by the state.
Most republicans have pledge to their anti tax god to never raise taxes, tolls allow them to keep their promise. Tolls were supposed to end when the debt was paid off, but the have become BIG burreacuries, bloated with patronage, to do up keep and improvements to the road systems.
JAG89
THE NEW AMERICA'S TEAM
No matter how one sees it or calls it, states have to come up with creative ways to generate revenue or they would get left behind when it comes to economic development. Roads are the main infrastructure that is required to provide access to undeveloped land that can be developed in the future. If there's no road, the land will remain undeveloped.
JAG89
THE NEW AMERICA'S TEAM
And that toll is only a dollar. In some states, depending on how far a person travels, they could easily pay up to $10 to $15 on one toll road. Besides Florida, typically one doesn't see several toll roads in one area until they hit Washington D.C. From D.C. on up the northeast coast toll roads are pretty much the norm for most areas. Also, your auntie have other options in New Orleans. She can take the Canal Street ferry or drive to Huey P. Long Bridge (U.S. 90) into Elmwood/Metairie. She can also drive to I-310 which is on the other side of the airport. She either pays the one dollar toll, catch the ferry, or take one of the long scenic routes to get to New Orleans Central Business District (CBD). Someone needs to explain to your auntie that her one dollar one-way toll fee helps drive New Orleans economy, which is probably why her nephew had to move all the way to Florida for a decent job.
Just from the google earth picture below, it does seem like New Orleans collects a lot for that toll.
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LS Syndicate
#TheeILove
I can't believe that toll is still $1. Orlando has risen toll prices twice in the past 7 years.And that toll is only a dollar. In some states, depending on how far a person travels, they could easily pay up to $10 to $15 on one toll road. Besides Florida, typically one doesn't see several toll roads in one area until they hit Washington D.C. From D.C. on up the northeast coast toll roads are pretty much the norm for most areas. Also, your auntie have other options in New Orleans. She can take the Canal Street ferry or drive to Huey P. Long Bridge (U.S. 90) into Elmwood/Metairie. She can also drive to I-310 which is on the other side of the airport. She either pays the one dollar toll, catch the ferry, or take one of the long scenic routes to get to New Orleans Central Business District (CBD). Someone needs to explain to your auntie that her one dollar one-way toll fee helps drive New Orleans economy, which is probably her nephew had to move all the way to Florida for a decent job.
Just from the google earth picture below, it does seem like New Orleans collects a lot for that toll.
JAG89
THE NEW AMERICA'S TEAM
When I was there in 2012 it was. LOL!!!
Olde Hornet
Well-Known Member
The price of admission to NYC keeps going up, the port authority of ny and nj keep raising the tolls for the bridges and tunnels into New York.
JAG89
THE NEW AMERICA'S TEAM
I first started using toll roads when I lived in Richmond, VA back in 2004 and 2005. There were a few toll booth on the Powhite Parkway and all of them could add up to approximately $2 dollars and 50 cent in one direction.
http://www.rmaonline.org/tollrates.html
JAG89
THE NEW AMERICA'S TEAM
It depends on how far you travel on the toll road. I guess you never took the toll to Dulles airport.
jsupop33
Loyalty & Respect
You don't pay if you are going to the airport. Only if you get off before airport exit.
LS Syndicate
#TheeILove
I pay $2.44 one way. Roughly $5/ day. I do get a 10% discount at the end of the month for my constant usage though.
JAG89
THE NEW AMERICA'S TEAM
True, but that's not the toll road. The toll roads are the outside lanes. I assume you never have to get off on Hwy 28 to Chantilly or Sterling. But it is called Dulles Toll Road and beyond that it is called Dulles Greenway which is also a toll. The purpose of the name change has to do with something with Loudoun County, VA funding that portion of the toll road. At one time, Loudoun County was the fastest growing county in the country. It's population grew by 96.9% from 1990 to 2000 and 84.1% from 2000 to 2010. Loudoun County is basically the spill over growth coming from Fairfax County, VA. I assume Loudoun County will get more growth now that the Metro's Silver Line is being extended to it along the Dulles Toll Road and the Dulles Greenway.
