Categories
State

Talk About Tolling

As another group of local government officials stands up in opposition to tolling the Mountain View Corridor (MVC), I was surprised to read this in the Salt Lake Tribune:

While the Utah Department of Transportation has explored user fees as a funding option – one that could cost some west-siders up to $200 a month – state Transportation Commission Chairman Stuart Adams said his panel hasn’t seriously considered it.

"I don’t think anyone wants to take a tool out of the toolbox and throw it away," Adams said, "but it isn’t a tool that has been talked about."

I could not believe that the Transportation Commission has not discussed tolling yet. The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has and there are rumors that congestion pricing will be recommended for freeways nationally.

It’s about time that the Transportation Commission started talking about this tool – and they should apply it across the board. Ideally, I-15 and the MVC should each include congestion pricing along-side a free lane or two (meaning always free rather than only free when traffic is low).

Categories
State

Doug Wright – Stuck on the Freeway

I rarely listen to the Doug Wright show. When I do, I generally wonder afterwards how I am any better off than if I had simply listened to the fuzz between stations. Today I happened to hear Doug when I turned on the radio and he was speaking on a subject I care about – tolling in Utah. It did not take long to conclude that Doug must have been stuck on the freeway when the discussions of tolling were starting – because he’s behind the times on the debate. Doug talks as if the tolling were going to happen only on the Mountain View Corridor and that planners were suggesting that it would only last until the bonds were paid off. I think it’s time that Doug caught up to what’s really being discussed more recently.

First, nobody is pretending that tolling is a temporary measure, so Doug is right that once that door is opened it won’t be closed again. Doug also fails to recognize that we already have a toll lane on I-15 with the possibility of other lanes starting to be tolled in the future so the door has already been opened to tolling in Utah.

Second, as cars get better fuel efficiency the government (State and Federal) receives fewer tax dollars per vehicle mile traveled to maintain roads. Regardless of how innovative our ancestors were, we have to find more revenue to maintain that transportation infrastructure. Perhaps Doug would like us to raise the gas tax – as if that would not disproportionally hit the poorest people (the same complaint he makes against tolling). That option fails to address the possibility of a future with other fuel alternatives and the fact that we must find a way to generate revenue in a way that is fair according to use regardless of other factors such as what fuel one person’s vehicle uses or how efficient the vehicle is. Fair revenue would be based on usage (miles traveled being the best measure of usage in my mind).

Third, Doug is referencing revenue projections on toll roads that were built for the purpose of generating revenue. The Mountain View Corridor needs to be built regardless of what revenue it might generate. Any revenue it generates is better than not generating any revenue. Also, lower revenue is an indication of lower usage which results in lower maintenance costs. For a road that is already necessary the risk of low revenue is minimal and tolling a necessary road is a totally different situation than adding new road capacity in order to generate revenue.

Let’s review what’s really being discussed.

    • Simple tolling is being less talked about than congestion pricing – which is even more fair because the cost is adjusted based on the usage levels when the driving is happening and it means that people can plan most of their trips at low-toll or no-toll times.
    • Calls to include similar tolling options on I-15 and the Mountain View Corridor are increasing. There is no reason that tolling should favor one area over another.
    • Electronic tolling would prevent the sitting in line using up gas that Doug complains about. Anyone who was using a toll road regularly would be getting an electronic monitor. Only those who are passing through or who use the roads infrequently would ever have to be stopped at a toll booth.

There are arguments against tolling that deserve consideration, but Doug missed any of those. My conclusion is – if we get congestion pricing as I envision it and I had to listen to Doug Wright I can promise that I would pay the highest toll rates to get off the road as fast as possible in order to minimize my listening time.

Categories
culture State

Don’t Toss the Tolling Option

Herriman is hardly alone in opposing freeway tolls. The most prominent reason they give is wholly predictable – and it is reasonable:

The two-page Herriman statement said the council supports the corridor project, but believes tolls would create a financial burden for residents.

I would love to read the full statement from the city council, but I know that we need to quit thinking of tolling as an all-or-nothing proposition.

We already have a single carpool/toll lane on I-15 and I think the lane next to it should become a congestion pricing lane as well – that would leave at least two and in most places 3 free lanes on the road and would allow people to discover the value of congestion pricing.

That is also an idea that could be implemented and begin generating revenue while the Mountain View Corridor is still being built. I believe that if we created a congestion pricing lane on I-15 while the MVC was being built we would see little opposition to having one or two of the leftmost lanes on the MVC as congestion pricing lanes. This would allow residents on the east and the west to share the cost of the improved transportation infrastructure which will benefit both sides.

Categories
State

Congestion Tolls

The Deseret News is recommending congestion tolls to help pay for our transportation needs. I have previously stated my generic approval of tolling while recognizing that there are issues of fairness to be addressed. (Toll roads on the west side, but not the east side is not fair.) One comment on the editorial suggested a possible approach to the fairness issue and also the issue of leaving the roads free for those who can’t pay a toll:

. . . one possible solution is only impose congestion pricing in certain lanes, leaving other lanes open to general use. We could eliminate the current HOT lane on I-15 and do two lanes of congestion priced expressway instead. Do a lane or two congestion priced on I-215 as well. And do a lane or two congestion priced on the MVC while leaving a lane or two open for general use.

(unfortunately you have to scroll down for the comment – they should provide anchors to individual comments)

The suggestion of congestion pricing on some lanes but not all is illustrated in a Reason.tv video by Drew Carey that discusses traffic congestion. (The video showing congestion pricing is between 4 and 5 minutes into the video.) I think that idea deserves to be explored.

Categories
State

Toll Roads and MVC

Nobody should be surprised that some west-side cities don’t like the idea of tolling on the Mountain View Corridor. Some are suggesting that it is unfair. I think tolling generally is not a bad idea but I think I would agree that tolling on MVC while leaving I-15 free would be unfair to the growing west-side.

A state study found the tolls would pay for about $1.1 billion of Mountain View’s $1.8 billion price tag. But council members worry about long-term costs.

They fear some residents may have to cough up $200 a month to use the road. They also worry about fee-dodging commuters bypassing the highway altogether, clogging up and wearing down other routes.

While the Utah Department of Transportation has not selected a toll road as its preferred funding option – it’s being considered along with sales or gas taxes and car-registration fees – the council members want to kill the idea for good.

It would make more sense to me to toll I-15 if we wanted to toll only one of those roads. It is the more direct route for the majority of commuters and would be likely to generate higher revenue and have fewer people trying to go around the toll road. Personally, I think the best plan would be to add congestion pricing to both roads. That would be fair to both sides of the valley and revenue would be more reflective of actual usage on the roads because the higher usage roads would generate the most revenue for maintenance and future expansion.

Categories
Local State

Outstanding News

The news today that UDOT puts Lehi freeway on hold is incredible.

Teri Newell of UDOT said the state agency, hearing concerns from Lehi, had agreed to cut in half the width of the road, going from 680 feet wide to something closer to 350 feet wide.

That plan will preserve a corridor wide enough to build a freeway if necessary, but beyond that, all bets are essentially off the table.

Newell said that “if” a freeway ever needs to be built — and that word alone represents a change in tone — UDOT has now agreed that negotiations must begin again at some future date . . . Instead of planning for a freeway now, a new east-west connector at 2100 North will be built as soon as possible, with two lanes and traffic signals in each direction.

I knew that the city officials had not given up on finding a resolution, and the article makes it clear that they still want to see a 2100 North freeway removed from the table of future possibilities, but I really had not expected that they would be able to make even this much progress with UDOT.

An east-west connector being built soon will do much more good for north-west Utah county than 10 more years of wrangling over the alignment without building anything. Combined with the east-west connector on 1000 South (where construction should begin sometime next year) we will have nearly the equivalent of a new east-west freeway, and 3 east-west routes (1000 S, Main, and 2100 N) through Lehi in 5 years rather than 10 more years of talk and gridlock – which is what we would have had before even if Lehi had not opposed the 2100 North freeway.

Kudos to the Lehi City officials who continued to advance the city’s interests in the face of long odds.

Categories
Local State

Mountain View Corridor – Moving Forward

UDOT has decided that the 4800 North proposal from Lehi city is not a viable alternative for the Mountain View Corridor. This decision officially takes that proposal off the table for future consideration on this project. Now it’s time for the city of Lehi to push for the most acceptable solutions from among the remaining alternatives. I hope that instead of complaining that we got overruled the city leaders will try to make the most of the options available. We still need better commercial development and more options to help people have shorter commutes. I still think there are ways that we can help Lehi to become a destination on the Mountain View corridor, and not merely a path between home and work for all the people in Eagle Mountain, Saratoga Springs, Alpine, American Fork, and Highland.

Categories
State

Comments Window Closing

For those affected by the MountainView Corridor, I am reminded that the window of opportunity to comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement is closing next week. Comments must be received no later than January 24th. Now is the time to make your voices heard if you have any interest in this project.

Instructions on submitting comments can be found by clicking the link above.