Why Tollbooths Should Be Abolished

Impact: This is import because further, well-maintained roads, coupled with access to public transportation and other driving alternatives, can lower traffic congestion and accident rates which not only save Americans time and money but also save

Why was the “bridge authority asked by the California Highway Patrol to build a net in 1939 but never did?” (Bridge Rail Foundation) Maybe is purely a matter of economics; “only one major hurdle remains before we will see the suicides at the bridge stopped — the $50 million needed to build the project” (Bridge Rail Foundation). Interestingly, the toll authority recently spent “$30 million” for a Moveable Median Barrier (MMB), to ward against the “hundred head-on collisions, (and) 16 Fatalities” that have occurred since 1970 (Golden gate Organization, 4). However, it only spent “$1.4 million to design a “suicide deterrent” in 2014, despite the 2015 “operating revenues of $176.3 million, plus additional non-operating revenues of $23 million” (Golden Gate Organization, 4).

While the Federal-Aid Highway act of 1956 created the U.S. Interstate system and brought a nation together, the Federal-Aid Highway act of 1973 would later create division in federal and state political parties over future funding concerns. In the short run, President Nixon considered this act as a positive step for transportation and the economy. However, in the long run, this act led to the eroding of HTF’s, leaving both state and federal government debating over how to proceed in funding a transportation infrastructure that is at present time slowly crumbling. Political differences between federal and state agencies have brought the modernization process of the transportation infrastructure to a snail’s pace. In addition, the lengthy

The state of Texas is well known for its fast grown as a southern state, due to the idea of better opportunities of employment and for having a cheap lifestyle such as housing and food. But not everything is so good, the transportation in Texas is not very efficient. Even when the state has more than 501 highways, they seem to not be on the best conditions. The infrastructures' bad shapes not only affects the state, in general, but it also affects the residents.

As stated in the question there is a blurry line between a public good and a private good. A public good is a good that is considered as being non rival and non excludable. When you consume a public good, it does not affect someone else’s consumption of the good. A private good is good that is both rival and excludable. This means that if you consume a private good, it may affect someone’s consumption of the product. I think we could make the argument that roadways are both a private and public good. Roadways are a public good in that there is no competition as to who builds and owns the roads. However, I do not think that roadways are totally non excludable. The more cars on the road means more traffic and more wear and tear on the roads. The more you drive on the roads, the more you affect others’ use of the roads. In this way, I think that roadways are more a private good. Not to mention that toll ways are making it more and more expensive for people to drive on the roads and therefore more exclusive. I know we normally assume that roadways are very public goods that are accessible to everyone. However, after looking at the economic definitions of a public good, I believe that roadways are almost more a private good than public; I affect other people driving on the road and so do the tolls that the other drivers and required to

In the early 1900s, the United States of America would see the introduction of a piece of technology that would change the way we as a society would look at travel. Henry Ford began production of Model T, the vehicle soon found its way into many American homes. By 1927, the Ford Motor Company had sold nearly 15 million of the mass produced, affordable car. The automobile was no longer a luxury but, a necessity for Americans. During the infancy of the automobile, the roads where nothing more than a mere rutted up path through the country side. Though shortly, people realized the need for better roads. The only problem was, who was going to pay the bill?

In this detailed report, essential actors such as the Transportation, Natural Resources, and California Environmental Protection Agency provide ongoing projects they are developing which collectively helps California attain an improved infrastructure plan. In recent events, Californians passed Measure M in 2016 by a 71.5% margin which will serve as sales tax to “improver freeway traffic flow/safety; repair potholes/sidewalks; repave local streets”(Metro). An unpopular decision that has affected commuters was the recent gas tax signed into effect by governor Jerry Brown on November 1st 2017. This increase in tax , formerly known as the Senate 1 Bill, increased gasoline prices by 12 cents to help fund the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of the California Highway Patrol. Over the course of a decade, this legislative package aims to collects $54 Billion to fix roads, freeways and bridges. In terms of distribution, $200,000,000 of the funds will go into road maintenance, $100,000,000 of the funds will go to the Active Transportation Program, and $400,000 of the funds will go to maintenance and rehabilitation (State of California

Comparing the financial cost of the interstate with the cost of having to reallocate funding or stopping programs in an effort to decrease traffic congestion will create a greater economic downturn if not done in moderation as well as a decrease in confidence in lawmakers. The lawmakers will feel the decrease in confidence by citizens during elections. Unless the local government can generate and use other sources of revenue to continue highway improvement, the decision to remove the city’s funding is not practical.

When an individual has lived in and around an area such as New Orleans, La, the majority of their lives, it is hard to imagine an area with roads that are just as bad as, if not worse, as those in the city of New Orleans. With countless potholes, crumbling pavement and sink holes popping up here and there, there is no way the streets could be that bad anywhere else. That is the mentality that one has until the venture out to other cities such as Toledo. According to an article published in the Toledo Blade on June 19,2015 by Tom Troy, Toledo’s roads are the second worst in the state of Ohio. With the poor road conditions and constant road constructions, comes a number of problems for the city’s residents. People are forced to spend countless

In Daniel Wood's article "Road Pricing Necessary, Contentious—and coming to Vancouver," he provides a glimpse into the possible uproar that will come of introducing road pricing to the city of Vancouver. The masses of people who commute by transit have to pay for it while drivers on the other hand, pay nothing to use the roads. Woods goes on to describe examples of how drivers get charged for using the roads in other parts of the world and how it helps to reduce congestion and encourage the use of public transit. Woods states that in Vancouver, the roads have been free since the beginning of time. Consequentially, the public does not really comprehend the concept of road pricing—let alone have any experience with it—and without the proper education,

A majority of residents in NW Ohio you are pretty familiar with the condition of our roads and the amount of construction that takes place. Many streets have been taken over by huge pot holes and cracking cement, large sink holes has also been an issue, but driving on them has become an issue and taking its toll the residents’ vehicles. Our highway has also become a cause of concerned with the amount of construction that is taking place. From the issues with traveling on them to the dangers of speeding drivers the current construction has become an inconvenience for anyone that is traveling on the highway.

Nothing that has occurred in the last several years in Texas has been quite as controversial as the new and increased usage of toll roads for new road construction. We have heard many statements that the toll roads are being built as a money-making system for the state (and the Department of Transportation). Statements have also been made to the effect that the state is "selling" the state, one length of roadway at a time; that the current roads could be maintained by the state, with current state funding levels. The main complaint is that the roads of Texas have always been free, and should continue to be free. But are these arguments correct?

In the third debate in class, we talked about Tollway vs. freeway. A tollway is an open or private road for which a free or toll is evaluated for passage. It is a shape of road pricing typically executed to help recover the cost of road maintenance and construction. Tollway requires vehicles to stop or back off; manual toll gathering sits wastes time and raises vehicle working expenses. The activity redirection coming about because of the tolls expands congestion on the road system and makes it less useful. A freeway is a controlled-get to a multi-path expressway that does not have tolls. Traffic flow on a highway is unhindered in light of the fact that there are no moving signals, convergences, or at-level crossings with different railroads, streets, or passerby ways. Ways out and entrances to the highway are given at interchanges by slippy streets, which consider speed changes between the interstate and collector streets. Opposing directions of travel are for the most part isolated by a focal reservation containing a traffic obstruction, grass, or a median strip. This eliminates the contentions with other directions and enhances safety and limit.

While the least amount took place on tollways with just 13 fatalities. So what is so significantly different about traveling on tollways than highways? Well for one, you have to pay to get on the tollway so of course a lot less people travel on it. A possible theory to avoid heavy traffic, is to travel before or after rush hours to avoid congested roads.

Our transportation system, quite arguably, may embody our most vital system, as Infrastructure and Democracy clarifies, “access is the hallmark of a great infrastructure” (Jones, Reinecke). By great contrast, our roads remain a current issue. 42 percent of America’s urban highways remain congested, costing the United States 101 billion dollars in wasted time and fuel each year. Also, the32 percent of roads, in poor or mediocre condition, cost the average traveler $324 per year (American Infrastructure Report Card). Unfortunately, updating the highway systems seems longer than it may seem, as the Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates that from proposal to completion most highways will need nine to nineteen years to fix (Leduc, Wilson 129). In addition to the roads, our bridges are failing just as much. One of every nine bridges within the United States is categorized as structurally deficient. The average bridge 42 years old, and in order to eliminate the bridge renovation backlog, our country would need to invest twenty and a half billion dollars until 2028 (American Infrastructure Report Card). However, in 2013, the United States only invested 12.8 billion dollars in bridge reconstruction and repair (American Infrastructure Report Card). Also, our countries transit