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It may cost to use major roads in metro area by 2030

Journal of Commerce reporter Marc Stiles recently wrote a compelling story that talks about the potential tolling of all major roads in this area. Here it is:

The Puget Sound Regional Council is expected to approve a far-reaching plan this afternoon that could lead to tolling of all major roads in the metropolitan area by 2030.

Meanwhile, the Washington State Department of Transportation plans to spend another $7 million on roadway tolling consultants.

These moves show how wide spread tolling is likely to become in Washington.

Last year, WSDOT hired Electronic Transaction Consultants of Texas to operate a new statewide customer service center for toll operations. ETC will provide customer service for an electronic tolling program called Good to Go. The company also will process payments and collect money from toll scofflaws. The five-year contract is valued at approximately $23 million.

Now WSDOT is hiring teams to work together as the statewide general toll consultant. Engineers and management consultants are needed to help plan toll systems, according to Janet Matkin, WSDOT toll marketing communications manager.

Consultants’ proposals are due June 1, according to the notice in the May 14 DJC.

This will be a three-year contract. WSDOT anticipates spending $3 million in the first year, and $2 million per year after. There is an option to extend the contract to five years or more.

The state now tolls the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and the state Route 167 HOT lanes. Motorists driving alone on SR 167 can pay to drive in the carpool, or high-occupancy vehicle, lanes. HOT stands for high-occupancy toll.

Starting next spring, SR 520 bridge tolls will be collected electronically through prepaid Good to Go accounts or by mail via bills sent to registered vehicle owners. Toll rates will vary depending on the time of day; the goal is to encourage more off-peak travel and reduce congestion.

WSDOT also is looking at tolling the Eastside corridor, which is more than 50 miles long and connects Interstate 405 to state routes 167 and 512. WSDOT officials studied the matter with representatives of cities in the corridor. The group recommended that WSDOT phase in tolling, starting with the Bellevue-to-Lynnwood portion of 405.

Another possibility is tolling vehicles that use the proposed tunnel that could replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct on Seattle’s waterfront, as well as vehicles on the proposed Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River between Vancouver and Portland.

Regionwide tolls

Last year, the Puget Sound Regional Council Executive Board endorsed a plan called Transportation 2040. It would move the region away from gas taxes and other traditional revenue sources toward user fees, including tolls on freeways and other major highways.

The plan assumes that by 2020 all major roads will be either tolled or have HOT lanes. By 2030, all lanes will be fully tolled. The plan also says the region should consider replacing the fuel tax with a charge for miles traveled.

PSRC released the final environmental impact statement on the plan in March, and the PSRC General Assembly is scheduled to adopt the plan at its meeting at 3:30 p.m. today at the Doubletree Arctic Club Hotel at 700 Third Ave., in Seattle.

Ninety-seven percent of the Executive Board voted for the plan in December. Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and Port Orchard Mayor Lary Coppola cast the no votes. Based on the overwhelming approval last year, a PSRC representative said the General Assembly is expected to approve the plan.

A McGinn spokesperson said the mayor voted against the plan because it does not meet “our objectives for transit, land use, social equity, or greenhouse emissions. Instead of moving our region forward in improving transit, density, equal access to infrastructure and greenhouse gas reductions, the plan will preserve the status quo with only relatively modest investments in transit and biking, coupled with massive expansions of new highways.”

(Editor’s note: This original story has been updated to explain why McGinn voted no.)

The plan includes $191 billion worth of transportation projects. Among them are completing projects in the Sound Transit 2 package that voters OK’d in 2008; and finishing state Route 167, the Cross Base Highway in Pierce County and state Route 509 south of Sea-Tac Airport.

The plan supports replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the SR 520 floating bridge. Other highways would be widened. A complete list of the projects is at psrc.org.

A PSRC analysis shows financing exists for only about $125 billion of the projects. PSRC staff members said in December that this doesn’t necessarily mean the plan is financially impractical. They said about half of the $66 billion shortfall could come from toll revenue.

WSDOT’s plan to hire a statewide toll consultant is not directly related to the tolling recommendations in Transportation 2040, but does recognize the role tolling will play in the construction of large transportation projects in Washington, Matkin said.

The General Assembly is composed of elected officials representing PSRC members, including King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties, 71 cities and towns, the region’s port districts, transit agencies and tribes.

This entry was posted by admin on Friday, May 21st, 2010 at 10:00 am and is filed under Engineering, Historic, Neighborhoods, Planning, Politics, Seattle lifestyle, transportation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

  • Joshua Daniel Franklin

    Tolling major roads is a fantastic idea. Why? Because that way people who use the streets more pay more, including people living outside the city.

    Currently, if you shop close to where you live a rarely use Interstates you still pay as much gas tax as a commuter. Here’s a writeup from Austin:
    http://mdahmus.monkeysystems.com/blog/archives/000313.html

    This is much better than city taxes paying for roads that are abused by commuters who aren’t paying the tax! Personally I already sent a suggestion to toll Mercer, with exceptions for freight, vanpools, motorcycles, and low income users; current Mercer traffic is overwhelmingly single-occupant vehicles.

  • Matt the Engineer

    Ah, another devil’s bargain with respect to roads. I love the tolling piece of this. I don’t love the new highway piece. Interesting that the tolling only pays for $33B of these new highways.

    I wonder if, unlike the gas tax, the toll revenue can be used to pay for transit. Wouldn’t it be a much better plan to take this toll money and increase transit on these corridors? We’d add more capacity than a new freeway without the extra cars on the road.

  • Matt the Engineer

    (oh, and can the author of this piece list their name? I’ve found it useful to tie writing styles to the faces on the right, and I don’t see a picture for “admin”)

  • scott b

    This would be the fastest way I can think of for a politician to be voted out of office. See ya on election day!

  • mhays

    Personally I like the gas tax more because it is paid regardless of which road is traveled, and encourages fuel efficiency. But tolls are a fine fallback position.

    Put me in the camp of “lets not build a lot more roads.” We should keep the ones we have, with replacements as needed but not much more capacity.

  • krametorg

    Anyone who thinks this is a good idea is narrow minded and must think we’re not taxed enough. Do you think that? Or could it be that Gov’t needs to get more efficient? Some people cannot afford to live near the city. Some don’t want to. Some have children from dissolved marriages in another town but still want to live near them even though the work a great distance. Some people barely scrape by making a living delivering pizzas or whatever. I love how people think something is a good idea when it doesn’t affect them. Well I think this is horrible idea that will only kill an already ailing economy.
    I am willing to bet that anyone who is for this legislation lives in the city. We saw how you manage your own affairs, Seattle citizens. The monorail, sound transit, and every election cycle in Seattle is a contrant reminder of how you cannot be trusted with anything!

  • Matt the Engineer

    [kram] Those all sound like excellent reasons to toll! We want to discourage driving, and encourage living close to work. If people still want to live far away, they’ll pay the toll. If someone can only afford to live out in the exurbs because of the subsidized roads we’ve built out there along with the subsidized sewer systems, power lines, etc., then we need to start removing some of these incentives to create sprawl, or at least add penalties (like a toll). We need it to be more affordable to live in a city – or at least an urban center – than to live at one end of Puget Sound and work on the other.

  • Taxed Enough

    You’ve got to be kidding! People who use roads already pay for them – it’s called THE GAS TAX – and it’s one of the highest in the country. I moved out of Seattle because I got a job in Puyallup and was increadibly tired of this liberal minded bull-crap and taxation that the city of Seattle imposes on its citizens. Why don’t we start tolling the sidewalks? People who walk don’t pay to use the sidewalks…. why should I pay for sidewalks that I don’t use?

    Matt the Engineer – seriously??? you say in one sentence that is needs to be affordable to live in the city… you then say we need to tax roads… which is how products and many services are transported into the city – which means those costs will be passed onto consumers and citizens – making it unaffordable to live in.

    You progressive liberals… let’s just Tax Tax Tax – problem is – keep taxing and there won’t be enough or anyone left to tax.

  • krametorg

    Dear Matt
    That was truly classic response but I appreciate your honesty when you wrote:

    “We need it to be more affordable to live in a city – or at least an urban center – than to live at one end of Puget Sound and work on the other”

    Translation: Screw the rest of you as long as WE get what WE want.

    Just like you say it is my choice to live rural where it is cheaper, it is also your choice to live in the city where it is not. To each his own, right? Just don’t make me pay for your mistakes.

    The difference between us is that you want me to subsidize your wallet.

    That can work both ways. Beware.

  • http://www.djc.com Ben

    Hi folks,

    Ben here, from DJC’s Nuts & Bolts blog.

    There’s a big picture here that seems to be flying below the radar: by 2030, many (most?) cars will run on alternative fuels.

    It would be difficult to tax some of the alternative fuels, such as electricity, so WSDOT and public agencies are looking for other ways to keep tax revenue flowing.

    I’m not a big fan of tolls, but there doesn’t appear to be any other solutions at the moment. Anybody have any ideas?

  • JK

    Why would it be difficult to tax electricity?

    By 2030 commuting will likely be near obsolete. We will have much less trips to offices. So mass public transit into the city is a dated idea.

    What we need is more robust private transportation. A car can get you anywhere you want to go, faster than any train, and without all of the hassles. Imagine electric cars running on efficient roadways. What could be better than that?

  • http://www.djc.com Ben

    Hi JK,

    How are you going to regulate how much electricity my car uses when I plug in at home?

    Perhaps by putting a meter into the car itself, but that begs for cheating. I’ve known people in the past who have disconnected the hour meters on their boat engines to keep the hours low.

    My point is it would be difficult to tell what part of your overall electricity consumption is going into your car.

    Also, in 20 years I’m betting that solar technology will be much further along than it is now. It’s possible that cars could be entirely charged by the sun by 2030. How are you going to meter that?

    I agree with you about reduced commuting in the future, but I don’t think it will be close to obsolete. How will construction workers get to the job site? Or auto mechanics? Or doctors? Not everyone will work from home.