Guest commentary: Why an I-70 toll is good public policy

Guest commentary: Why an I-70 toll is good public policy

click link for full

snip below

Think about the difference in the taxes that property owners pay to fund local parks and the entrance fee your family pays to visit Yellowstone National Park. That is the appropriate framework to begin discussing toll roads. Everyone in the community can access local parks so general taxes support their existence. A much smaller percentage of people visit Yellowstone each year, and those people support it with an admission fee. Interstate highways are like Yellowstone — admission fees (tolls) are the preferred means of funding.

The Missouri Department of Transportation has announced plans to make Interstate 70 a toll road to fund renovations. Let us make two assumptions: MoDOT will overcome any legal and political impediments to do this (not a safe assumption) and the renovations to I-70 are necessary (I think MoDOT is on safe ground here). With those assumptions set, the focus simply becomes: Is tolling I-70 a good public policy decision? I believe it is.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/guest-commentary-why-an-i--toll-is-good-public/article_571cec04-90d7-586e-b66c-5ddd5b333108.html#ixzz1iW6sEAxq
--------------

toll roads in Missouri is idiotic

raise the taxes and fix the damned mess. unlikely in Missouri given the fools in Jefferson city