Posted on 06/28/2007 3:11:52 PM PDT by BurbankKarl
In a major shift in philosophy, Los Angeles County transit leaders agreed today to develop plans for toll roads in the county within three years.
The decision by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors comes amid criticism that Los Angeles remains one of the few metropolitan areas in the country not to experiment with so-called congestion pricing, in which motorists are charged to use certain roads based on the amount of traffic.
Last month, the county lost out on a major federal grant because it did not have any congestion pricing programs in the works.
London and New York have garnered headlines for efforts to charge motorists who drive into those cities during rush hour. Closer to home, Orange and San Diego counties have toll roads and high occupancy toll lanes, in which motorists pay based on the level of congestion.
Traditionally, L.A. officials have been cool to congestion pricing, with critics calling them "Lexus Lanes" for the rich that take money away from rail and bus services. But the county's worsening traffic — and the need for more revenue for transit projects — has changed some minds.
"At some point, we have to reduce the number of single-passenger automobiles if we want to reduce gridlock in L.A. County," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
That ought to stir the pot a bit eh?
My work is done here.
I really hate sloppy reporting, or maybe I am just being too picky. But my definition differs from that of Rong-Gong Lin II's. Orange County is part of the "LA Metropolitan area".
What the writer should have said was "Los Angeles County remains one of the few metropolitan areas that..."
Doesn’t Highway 241 use “Congestion Pricing”?
The freeways are ALREADY backed up!
What is the MTA version of Nanny state we don’t need toll booth if you think it bad now with shooting on freeway just wait
May 5, 2006 was a remarkably congestion free day.
Pennsylvania has been building mini-Turnpikes all around the state and nobody uses them. According to Mapquest, a route from Youngstown, Ohio to the Pittsburgh Airport using existing non-toll roads is 7 miles and 10 minutes shorter than the toll route!
It still bristles, the idea of having to pay to drive on roads one's taxes have already paid for. These sorts policies are stuck with us, however; what would bureaucrats do if they didn't have these things to tweak around with? I'm afraid gone are the days when the busybody gov't didn't try to mess around with when/where we could drive.
The really crazy part is that in context you can't blame the locals for making this decision, because apparently they lost out on federal grants for not doing so. Why is the federal government butting its nose into whether localities have congestion pricing? That's the real problem here.
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It would be interesting to know how many billions the MTA has squandered pushing ideals like leaving one lane empty while three other lanes remain dead stopped. Saving gas??? Environmentally friendly? Productive?
Sheesh, if the government funds were used to put the leaders of the MTA in a padded room wearing a straight jacket, the LA Basin would already be better off.
This will another idea blamed on Proposition 13.
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