Editorial: Tolls could burden tax-paying commuters

When Californians hop in their cars for a ride down the freeway, the only cost they worry about is usually from the gas in their tanks. But this could change.

Even with billions of dollars in bond money to fix our roads, there isn’t enough to solve all the state’s transportation woes, according to many lawmakers.

California was a leader in experimenting with private financing for public roadways, but the trend died down after several botched attempts.

Apparently the pieces have finally fallen together for California to now embrace toll roads:

First, other states and nations around the world have found success with the model. Second, despite all the funding California has for transportation, it’s still not enough.

The state wants to let private banks, companies and individuals invest in roads and allow them to share in the profits from tolls. These toll roads could prove to be a huge boon to the state if done right, but could prove disastrous if done too hastily.

Toll roads are already fairly common in states such as Oklahoma, New York and Pennsylvania, but California’s rocky history with toll roads runs the gamut, including delays in construction and increases in building costs.

A toll road scheduled to open near San Diego this summer, for example, went 70 percent over budget and is riddled with delays from lawsuits.

But the key to successful toll roads is attention to detail, and California thinks it finally has a grasp on this. There are several proposals on the table, including a truck route from the Port of Long Beach to the Inland Empire and a new road to Mexico that would include its own border crossing.

Clearly the prospect of “free” funding for new roads and highways is enticing, but there could be problems if these roads become too common.

Toll roads would benefit the state, freeing the state’s budget to tackle other important issues. And it makes sense for those using the roads to be the ones financing their construction and upkeep.

California should continue to be a pioneer in working with private companies to complete projects, but toll roads should not become so common that it becomes impossible to avoid them.

The 91 Express Lane is a 10-mile stretch of road that can be as expensive as $9.25 per trip at peak hours. No one should have to pay that much to come home from work every day just because the government’s roadways can’t handle the traffic.

Gas prices and parking are already an exorbitant cost for many commuters, and tacking on unavoidable tolls could present a problem for many.

A lot of people would probably be more than happy to take an alternate route to Mexico if they could pay to avoid the long lines at the border, and this is the type of project that private investors should be funding.

Freeways and other routes that would be used by thousands of commuters are not reasonable for a project like this because they are an inextricable part of people’s lives.

Even if some do not use roads often, they still benefit from the shipping, business and other everyday uses. So no matter how good free money sounds, the state needs to provide a basic amount of transportation infrastructure funded by tax dollars.