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Tolls on Hampton Roads highways have been inevitable for more than a decade.
Selfish and short-sighted rural members of the General Assembly long ago decided that it didn't matter how much Hampton Roads drivers had to pay in tolls to get from place to place, so long as their constituents could ride the roads for free.
Worse, those rural obstructionists were aided and abetted by anti-tax ideologues from Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia.
Gas tax? Forget about it.
Sales tax? Not a chance.
Local tax? Not on their watch.
Not one thin dime in new transportation revenue has been raised in decades, even as traffic has worsened and Virginia's population has grown. Richmond's rulers dithered so long that two ancient bridges wore out in Hampton Roads before they could be replaced.
The blame falls on every local legislator who ever went to Richmond and voted to value political ambition above the needs of constituents.
That's not good governance. That's not responsibility. That's negligence.
And so, long after everyone in Virginia knew that something needed to be done about transportation funding, nothing has been done. The governor has proposed moving a few decimal points around the ledger. He has borrowed billions with no way to repay it.
The only solution the rural legislators and ideologues will permit is one that involves punishing tolls for the residents of Hampton Roads. That way, people in Winchester and Staunton and Danville and Bristol can enjoy the benefits of Hampton Roads' economic vigor without having to pay a penny for it.
So here come the tolls. Thanks to the ineffective governance of 20 years of Hampton Roads delegates and senators, and to the unwillingness of administration after administration to buck the anti-tax zealots who rule Richmond, here come the tolls.
The saddest thing is that the coming tolls represent progress of a perverse and pernicious kind. The administration of Gov. Bob McDonnell will finally get some projects moving, including an expansion of the Midtown Tunnel. That's more than his predecessors can say.
But this progress comes at a choking cost for Hampton Roads. A cost so high that the progress isn't worth having.
The obstruction in the legislature means that the only way to build a road is by making a sweetheart deal with a private corporation. In the case of the Midtown and Downtown tunnels, Virginia is allowing Elizabeth River Crossings LLC a profit of 13.5 percent, with tolls that could rise at least 3.5 percent a year.
This is not so much a tunnel project as a financial instrument. Investors will look forward to lucrative returns taken from the pockets of millions of commuters.
This is the kind of deal that was once made in back rooms by good ol' boys, and the citizenry had no choice but to pay the price.
Sadly, the good ol' boys - now MBAs and lawyers - are at it again. And the citizenry still has no choice but to pay the price: $1.84 each way, to start.
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The Price for Negligence--Tolls in Hampton Roads
It's not just negligence of the Hampton Roads representatives, it's also simply selfishness on the part of the rural state legislators. I-64 west of Richmnond was built in the 1960s to serve the rural counties. It was built so far before its need that in the early 70s, I would often drive for 15 or more miles and never see another vehicle. But we in Hampton Roads can really thank (sic) Allen and Gilmore for following the oil lobby to fight the referundum for the penny increase in the gas tax twenty years ago. Their lame excuse--that the money might not be used for road construction. Our governor is out of his mind adding tolls to these tunnels and roads. The cost of administering and collecting the tolls will be multi-millions as opposed to zero with a gas tax increase. How do you force everyone using the tunnels to have an EZ Pass on every car they own? Does it mean that the tunnels will need cash toll booths? Talk about a bottle neck--even with the new tunnel, the congestion will be worse than it is now. Roads, bridges and tunnels are PUBLIC facilities--the life-blood of the state and are not meant to be privately owned. It's so simple--Issue bonds and pay them off with a few penny gas tax increase. Selling the names of roads and bridges and opening liquor stores on Sunday for additional income?? It's like Alice in Wonderland here in Virginia--nothing makes sense.
Wrong ... the obvious fix is better governing and less taxes
"The obvious fix is a sensible gas tax that flexes with inflation..."
Annnnnnnnnnt! Wrong!
Unaccountable, automatic tax hikes is NEVER sensible.
The gas tax is a huge slush fund. The TTF (Transportation Trust Fund) is NOT protected. It is raided by the General Assembly over and over. Face it, there is not "TRUST in the failed TTF!
Our gas tax money ends up being frittered away on all manner of WRONG THINGS.
Gas tax dollars end up being a huge wealth-redistribution scam that doesn't take care of the roads, bridges, and tunnels in true NEED, instead it is misused as a piggy bank for all manner of pork projects.
The obvious fix is a sensible SPENDING and better governing; governing that removes the institutionalized corruption from the decision-making process and restores HONESTY and intergity to the prioritization process.
We don't need higher taxes, we need better government.
Dollars and Sense
The bridges and tunnels around Hampton Roads are some of the more expensive assets in Virginia's 57,867 miles of roadway. At the same time, these arteries into Virginia's premier port faculties are critically essential to Virginia's economic well being - not just to the folks that drive over them. We fund tens of thousands of miles of roads of minor economic importance, yet we're about to start funding these arteries wallets of the few who drive over it.
That tells us that the current funding model is failing, and matters are only going to worsen. The obvious fix is a sensible gas tax that flexes with inflation. If we continue on this course, tolls are going proliferate across Virginia. In turn, tolls will do economic damage to localities. Take our Midtown for instance. Aside from the enormous amount of container traffic going through the tunnel, there is also a lot of traffic from ODU, NSU and TCC students and the military. These folks spend some of their precious discretionary dollars at the local businesses on either side of the water. A $1,000 per-year toll will particularly damaging to small businesses and to the aforementioned group of people. A simple road not unlike the roads millions of Virginians take for granted, will become an insurmountable barrier.
If you oppose this toll, please go to Change.org and Tell Virginia State and Local Officials: Block Tolls in Hampton Roads.
Everyone just sit back, relax and...............
...........Have a nice big glass of Warm Prune Juice. The Pilot makes it sound as if the universe is about to implode. "Quick! Everyone Freak Out!!!" Tunnels are quite EXPENSIVE. It seems as though tolls are probably the best option at this time. Nothing else has worked so far. Don't get me wrong, I'm not for tolls unless they are the last option and it appears that is the case. I would propose that it be done in a similar fashion as the Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel was done. They are a first class operation and have kept the CBBT in top condition for well over 40 years. Light years ahead of VDOT and havn't cost the Taxpayers a dime.
Past the Point of Not Tolling
Even if a new revenue source (i.e. Gas Tax hike, Mileage Tax, or Sales Tax) was enacted by the General Assembly tommorrow, we're so far behind the curve that we'd have to toll to get projects built.
Look at the bright side: tolls may be the economic disincentive that get many more in Hampton Roads to use mass transit.
Tolls
in and of themselves are not a bad thing. The problem here is that they are too high and badly collected due to an idiotic plan. That the public infrastructure of tunnels are being turned over to a for profit private company is partially to blame. The "EZ Pass" idea is unrealistic unless a cash option exists. If we must have tolls, round it off to $1.00 and install a coin toss machine for those without "EZ Pass." The plan, as it is, is a disaster.
Tunnels were built with tolls - and tolls went away
The Downtown Tunnel (1952) was built with a toll - and the toll went away. The Midtown Tunnel (1962) was built with a toll, and the toll went away. The HRBT (1957/1976) was built with a toll - and the toll went away.
When did any raise in the gas tax - go away?
(Answer: Never.)
Think about the BPOL tax folks - it was created to fund the War of 1812. It is STILL here!
General taxes are a huge slush fund. The gas tax money is diverted away from roads and tunnels for all manner of other spending. Dumb things like subsidizing 90% of the fares costs of Norfolk's light rail, building horse trails and bike paths, and funding transit beuarcracy such as Phil Shucet being paid more than the President of the United States to run HRT.
Year after year the TTF (Transportation Trust Fund) is raided, the gas tax money taken and spent on all manner of "other stuff" (to "balance the budget").
The gas tax is a scam. Tolls actually cause the project to be built - and then they go away. Well, unless you have something like the CBBT - there the tolls remain, but the bridge tunnel pays for all its improvements and expansion; by users paying for what they use.
Raise in the gas tax?
We haven't raised the gas tax since 1986.
That tax is now only worth about 8 cents/gallon.
And all of our infrastructure, not just locally, in Virginia is in disrepair.
The ultimate user tax is the gas tax. All of our roads are part of the regional transportation system. And if you don't drive, you don't use the roads.
Controlling the revenue from gas tax would not be a huge challenge.
But putting tolls on every venue in the state, which would be the only fair solution so long as we are being soaked here, is ridiculous.
This anti gas tax stance is going to cost our commuters thousands per year to pay a contract that guarantees 13.5% ROI. And that guarantee would be paid for with taxpayer money.
This contract with ERC is a shameful abomination, bordering on criminal.
Nobody likes taxes.
Nobody wants terrible roads either.
But selling Tidewater down the river after we have paid for every other road in the state over the years is the height of arrogant disregard for one of the most vital economic engines in the region.
Virginia's GOP should be ridden out of town on a rail.
And I don't mean the light rail either.
Wrong Tax Figures
The gas tax is more like 18 cents per gallon.
yeah
18 cents per gallon in 1986 dollars amounts to about 8 cents per gallon today.
Cost of a gallon of regular gas in 1986: $0.93
As a percentage in 1986, the gas tax was 19%.
http://www.1980sflashback.com/1986/Economy.asp
Cost of a gallon of regular gas in 2012: $3.21
As a percentage in 2012, the gas tax is 6%.
http://www.virginiabeachgasprices.com/
Adjusted for inflation, and to equal the purchasing power in 1986 dollars, the gas tax would be 62 cents per gallon.
The argument that gas taxes are too high is pure hogwash.