O.C. toll roads hit by recession; would you pay for a faster commute?

You're inching along on the 405 Freeway. The clock is ticking. Minutes are zooming by. Here's the question: would you fork out $7 or $8 to bypass all that traffic and take a toll road instead?

In Orange County, many drivers are saying no. Christina Muscat told Times reporter Nicole Santa Cruz that instead of shaving 20 minutes off her commute from Rancho Santa Margarita to Westminster, she's pocketing the $7 instead, putting it toward gas money.

In Tuesday's story, Santa Cruz reports that recession-hit drivers are opting out of toll roads. Trips on California 73 had dropped 19% from the beginning of the economic decline in 2007 through the fiscal year ending June 2010. On the Foothill and Eastern toll roads, which include California highways 241, 261 and 133, traffic declined 17% in the same period. The 91 Express Lane has fared only slightly better.

Experts believe ridership on the toll roads will bounce back as the economy improves. Transportation officials are banking on it. Both San Francisco and Los Angeles are planning new toll roads. In Los Angeles, officials plan to charge commuters to use carpool lanes on the 110 and 10 freeways by 2013.

What do you think? Are toll roads a good idea? Would you pay money to take them? And if so, how much would you be willing to spend every day to cut time off your commute? Give us your thoughts below.

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Comments

[geoff]

toll roads are stupid. we all pay taxes. open the lanes for all the people to make everyones life ( and commute ) a lil easier.

[TheBigPicture]

All freeways should be toll roads during rush hour...It would keep the non-essentials off the road along with raising a lot of money...

[John]

Pay to use the carpool lanes on the 10 and 110?!?!?! Doesn't that defeat the purpose of having them.

If you want to pay, I suggest PAY EXPRESS lanes for ALL vehicles. They would be limited access, long distance lanes, for stretches of road say between freeway intersections (4 - 10 mile stretches in most cases) and a dedicated access to the next freeway, much like ALL of the carpool lane interchanges in Orange County, and the only several in Los Angeles county.

Cars are here to stay, it's time our planners though ahead instead of continually playing catch up.

[Kick the Can]

The people paid for the roads and ought to be able to use them without extra fees.

The roads should be opened to general use. Gas taxes ought to be used for roads as intended. Pot holes should be fixed; freeways widened and those infuriating diamond lanes should be open after 9am.

The problem is the ever increasing revenue lust to cover state and county pensions. We are being dinged every time we walk out the door.

The UC now admits more out of state students who can pay full freight to support professors who retire at age 50. My sales tax has skyrocketed as roads deteriorate so state employees can retire at age 50.

The toll roads are another imposition on us: we paid for the roads. We shouldn't have to pay again and again.

That's my solution: end the toll roads! Cut the state and county pensions!

[Eric Bressler]

What geoff said.

[julie]

So now we're punishing carpoolers by making them pay to use the lane? Use the tax money and stop trying to bleed the citizens dry. We don't need anymore smog in this city!

[ergie]

Adding a toll road to a 4 lane highway increases traffic capicity by less than 8%, but if it were an open lane for everyone it would be a 25% increase in capacity, in each direction! as for "officials plan to charge commuters to use carpool lanes on the 110 and 10 freeways by 2013" that would constitute the defrauding the public. OC toll road agency has spent millions on "audits" each of which recommended they lower the prices to increase use of toll lanes and each time they disregarded the expensive study and voted to raise tolls... morons.

[RAS]

Toll roads shouldn't exist. Californians decided many years ago they didn't want tolls, so we built roads and called them "freeways." Sadly, we are moving toward two societies: rich vs. poor. If you don't like traffic and you have the money, you can buy your way out of traffic. That is wrong.

[Steven M.]

Toll Roads and "Lexus Lanes" are a great idea. Rather than charging a "fixed-fee," computers should be used to approximate a price point where maximum use is being used on the toll roads, e.g. lower density, lower rates.

Free markets people!!!

[Adam]

Absolutely I would pay. Maybe not everyday, but on many days, yes. Toll lanes would increase travel choices for all.

@ Kick the Can: Our roads have long since been paid for and used to the point of their end life - they are an ongoing expense, not just a one-time capital investment. It's time to rehabilitate and innovate. This is not the 1950s - cars are more fuel efficient, the gas tax collects less as a result. New revenue streams are needed to keep our transportation network afloat.

Given the lack of voter will to raise taxes, toll roads (user-based fees) are the best option.

YES to tolls! YES to predictable commute times! YES to travel choice!

[savesocal]

Taking the toll roads has saved me hours of grief during the week. With growing gridlock on I-5 in South Orange County, it's helped my daily commute and even getting to the kids games on the weekend. I like having the option. Users pay. Not taxpayers, which is another point. Traffic is getting worse as the economy improves and the population keeps growing. Given the state of the California state budget and the federal budget deficit, we probably won't see any widening of I-5, 405, 22, whatever. More taxes are on the way. But not for roads -- high salaries and pensions for the bureaucrats. I hope the toll road companies find ways to build more toll roads. As a starting point, how about finishing the 241 so we have an alternate to I-5?

[Anonymous]

The government should add tolls to all highways for single drivers. Carpoolers have been dwindling in numbers for at least a decade. The state will never earn any money on this policy. Tolls pay for repairs of the road and disincentivize selfish single person travel (i.e., the majority of road drivers in Los Angeles). An intelligent idea would be to not charge carpoolers since they decrease congestion on the road. But in truth...who cares what people on the road today think. Density will put an end to all your car troubles. Just look at Hong Kong.

[Homebody]

Just a personal anecdote. I live in Central OC and work in South OC. I take the toll road to and from work every day. It costs me $4.00 per day ($2.00 each way) and saves me about an hour per day (30 minutes each way).

It allows me to take my kids to school in the morning before work and lets me get home in time to help with dinner.

So as for the question, "Would I pay for a faster commute?" I do and it is well worth every penny.

[roninkai]

Toll roads should be banned. Double taxation anyone?
The 91 toll road/lanes are a joke, I've been stuck in traffic many times as those "pay lanes" were empty. Why should we all sit wasting gas when more lanes just sit there?
Another example of the failed idea of privatization making life hard for the American taxpayer. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

[Joe]

A couple of extra bucks is well worth the savings in time. Most drivers are too stupid and/or cheap to get in the fast lane. And I love that. I have my choice of lanes and I can go 75 mph.

[savesocal]

Looks like some people misunderstand how toll roads get built -- not with taxpayer dollars. They are financed privately. The tolls pay for the debt, not taxpayers. We are facing worse congestion because cities and the state can't pay for new roads, or even to fix existing ones. Rancho Santa Margarita just canceled a $2.5 million plan to widen the Santa Margarita Parkway, which would have relieved congestion in the area. I'd like more toll roads built so we have more options for commuting, or even escaping on the weekend to San Diego -- a trip that has become a nightmare because of the gridlock on I-5.

[lwps]

$7? You have got to be kidding. There is nothing out there in Orange County. It costs that much to get into New York City.

Orange County just does not get it. If you want to be a city, first you have to have public rapid transit.

[lwps]

Why keep building more unsustainable suburban sprawl? Why more millions thrown down the drain into freeway expansion projects, that are just a temporary fix at best? People do not want to get onto the automobile cash extraction treadmill anymore, especially young people. And old people do not want to drive either. There would be no plans for these toll roads if the federal government didn't mandate them. Why not build rapid transit, to take cars off of the road, rather than waste money on more ways to put cars on the road?

[kwitcherbellyakin]

Toll roads may go the way of fast food. Once in a while is great, but every day, no. Peace out & God Bless

[Peoplescomments]

I thought that the millions of dollars collected by the state in gas tax were destined for roads.
Instead, the government is pocketing that money and making drivers pay more for the "privilege" of having a semi decent commute.

[TV]

The reason most people do not use the 241 is IT IS NOT FINISHED!!!
My friends and family have lived in south San Clemente, surfed at Trestles, and know the BIG SECRET.... Local surfers fear that "inlanders" or "909ers" will have easier access to their surf spots. That is why the Surf Foundation has lobbied against finishing the 241. To limit access to the beaches. It is unbelievable how successful they have been at playing the "green" card etc., while the congestion on the 5 freeway continues to build and pollution from slow moving vehicles fills the air. What a crock! Millions suffer as a few dozen clever and loud surf dudes giggle every day while toking around the camp fire. That is reality people. Even if it is politically incorrect....