WS-DOT’s I-405 Toll Solution
lack of vision at WSDOT is literally killing us. millions of dollars in toll roads that nobody wanted are empty, but the highway is still packed.
every day i’ve been on that road since the toll lanes were opened it’s been the same story, as predicted. scant traffic on the toll lanes as people suffer through the indignity of not wanting to pay twice for highways they already paid for. the congestion has not improved but the signs & roadway painting are far more confusing, distracting & disruptive as they incite time-pressured commuters to gamble on entry into the elite lane, subsequent tickets in the mail (“tolls”), fines & according hassles if they’re late paying for the privilege of driving on roads that were already built & previously mismanaged (HOV lanes are a separate math altercation, leave it).
the vast majority of these commuters have the money in their pocket to pay the toll, but they don’t want to out of principle, and shouldn’t. nobody did the math, but somebody should go home.
it’s a total disaster for everybody save the contractors & politicians. lack of leadership should be addressed in your forthcoming elections, think about this project when you hit the polls, then hit them back where it counts.
-rango \m/~
ed: as regards to the term ‘literal’, with all respect to the recently deceased, we should note that the simply ingesting the fumes on that highway can be lethal. i suggest we ultimately absolve ourselves by removing ourselves from the equation. better solutions are found in automation than taxation. light rail & car ferries come to mind, but individual drivers getting taxed for their economic privilege does not seem to equate to lives or time saved, but does equate to an abject failure of leadership, process & execution. the good news is that we now have abundant unused highway space and an opportunity to recast the money grab into something useful for the 99% of us that were downstream of the project dividends – clone1
http://www.kirotv.com/gallery/news/fatal-i-405-collision-scene/gfgs
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