Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Auth to spend $1 million for toll road feasibility (Miami: sales, how much)

[d4g4m]

Local, city, county, state, federal governments are always looking to get more money out of our wallets. The latest scheme is to see how they can construct additional lanes on or over I-275 to collect tolls. The same U.S. Sec. of Transportation that was pushing the HSR is now partially funding the toll lanes study.
A spokes person for the Authority stated 'This is not about converting existing lanes, it's about adding lanes'. Good thing there was clarification.
What she should have said was- If we could get away with installing toll booths at every entrance to I-275 we would, but since the highway was funded by fuel taxes and excise fees by every vehicle owner in the U.S. when they purchased a gallon of fuel, we are prohibited by law to install the toll booths. So we have to form a new bureaucracy, get our own funding [backed by the federal government] to collect new tolls. We will call the new toll lanes 'the express bus lanes' [with other vehicles paying to use] so the bus/HSR people will accept another billions of dollar boondoggle project.
I'm thinking we'll see the same names of people/groups that would have been on the Orlando-Tampa Train authoriity will also appear on the I-275 toll road authority.
Always follow the money!

[newyorker24]

Depending on how much the tolls are I would certainly be willing to pay them to make my daily commute on I-275 faster and less stressful.

[ferret111]

Out of all the recent political buzzwords, "boondoggle" has to be the most irritating one.

[FloridaKash]

I most certainly would rather them build an express way and charge tolls for those that use it then raise gas or sales tax for everyone to pay for it. Everyone that drives those highways complains about the traffic. Sounds like a solution to the problem.

[Kevin from Tampa]

Those lanes are awesome in Miami. I'd pony up a little bit to be able to get around faster. This could also be a funding source for light rail in the area.

As in most things, I just wish that the regional transportation authority would come together on this.

[TampaFrank]

Originally Posted by d4g4m

Local, city, county, state, federal governments are always looking to get more money out of our wallets. The latest scheme is to see how they can construct additional lanes on or over I-275 to collect tolls. The same U.S. Sec. of Transportation that was pushing the HSR is now partially funding the toll lanes study.
A spokes person for the Authority stated 'This is not about converting existing lanes, it's about adding lanes'. Good thing there was clarification.
What she should have said was- If we could get away with installing toll booths at every entrance to I-275 we would, but since the highway was funded by fuel taxes and excise fees by every vehicle owner in the U.S. when they purchased a gallon of fuel, we are prohibited by law to install the toll booths. So we have to form a new bureaucracy, get our own funding [backed by the federal government] to collect new tolls. We will call the new toll lanes 'the express bus lanes' [with other vehicles paying to use] so the bus/HSR people will accept another billions of dollar boondoggle project.
I'm thinking we'll see the same names of people/groups that would have been on the Orlando-Tampa Train authoriity will also appear on the I-275 toll road authority.
Always follow the money!

I can respect your opposition to such a project and expenditure. Do you have any suggestions on how then to rectify the increasing traffic situation? This area grows by the tens of thousands every year so the traffic only stands to get worse - something has got to give.

[d4g4m]

Roads, highways are supposed to be built with the taxes we pay on each gallon of fuel we purchase. It's how I-75 and I-275 were built. Those taxes paid for the additional I-275 bridge over Tampa Bay. It's how an additional lane is being added, both directions on I-75 between mile marker 191 to 200 Toll road authorites are created so political hacks can get jobs, pay themselves a big salary+ bennies and 'always follow the money' have control of alot of money.
If there were billions of dollars for a 'train', why isn't there billions of dollars to add lanes to I-275? What happened to the trillion dollar 'stimulus' shovel ready projects?

[tewas]

Well that trillion dollars went to multiple infrastructure projects across the country and this project was not shovel ready. No project, no money. Also I-75 was build long time ago, when we actually paid taxes and did not have two and a half wars on our hands. It would be nice to have extra lane or two to create better flow, and if this requires Miami style toll, i don't mind too much. If you don't want to pay to the "political hacks", don't drive in the toll lane. It is pretty simple.

[ferret111]

I wonder what the Feds will say? Since 275 is a federal highway, states and local governments can't just install tolls whenever they feel like it. Whenever an interstate has a toll, in most cases, the toll was there before the interstate designation and just got grandfathered in.

On a similar note, I read in the *tbt that some guy from Hillsborough County is so afraid of money getting used to build light rail that he wants to add an anti-money-for-rail clause into the county charter.

[Kevin from Tampa]

Originally Posted by ferret111

I wonder what the Feds will say? Since 275 is a federal highway, states and local governments can't just install tolls whenever they feel like it. Whenever an interstate has a toll, in most cases, the toll was there before the interstate designation and just got grandfathered in.

On a similar note, I read in the *tbt that some guy from Hillsborough County is so afraid of money getting used to build light rail that he wants to add an anti-money-for-rail clause into the county charter.

Well, the OP's post did say that it wasn't about converting existing lanes into toll lanes, but adding new ones...either way, somehow, they've done it on I-95 in Miami. It really helps the traffic move along better there.