Washington-Seattle area tolls
- Thread starter JudyM
- Start date
Here in Illinois, tolls are a common thing. I figured it was just part of life here, but then a few folks from Wisconsin told me how much they liked driving on Illinois toll roads, because they are always well-lit and litter-free. Toll charges here don't seem to be as high as in the Seattle area, but either a highway is toll or it isn't; one doesn't have the choice of using slow lanes. If you don't want to use tolls in Chicagoland, there are usually other ways to get around.
I've driven there, not lived there. Gas was cheaper because of less taxes, tolls weren't expensive, and roads were in far greater shape. I wonder if the revenue collected is greater, equal, or less than here in the great state of Washington. And I do think Washington is a great state. Lots of great reasons to live here. For all the bitching I do I would be hard pressed to have as much fulfillment in life as I find in this state. I don't want to leave. I want to see Washington be even better. It was better. Let's get there again.
"The government is essentially a business..."
This is the fundamental misunderstanding of government. It is NOT essentially a business. Attempting to run the government as if it was a business has usually been a failure. Business is transactional; government should never be.
This is the fundamental misunderstanding of government. It is NOT essentially a business. Attempting to run the government as if it was a business has usually been a failure. Business is transactional; government should never be.
joefromchicago
Steelhead
Unfortunately, the sad fact is that tolls are the only known method to control gridlock that actually works. And yeah, it impacts the less well off in a bigger way and redirects traffic through more occupied neighborhoods, reducing pedestrian safety but consider this. In most cases these are already roads that you paid for with your tax dollars.
Got to admit I have a general frustration about tax-whiners. You don't want to pay taxes, don't use the services they provide which includes, banks, interstate highways, Social Security, unemployment security, food stamps, the armed forces, the Postal Service,I could go on and on but you get the picture (I hope).
And really, come on, the amount you contribute to any one of those is infinitesimal at best, so please, stop your whining about "my tax dollars", puh-leeze.
Got to admit I have a general frustration about tax-whiners. You don't want to pay taxes, don't use the services they provide which includes, banks, interstate highways, Social Security, unemployment security, food stamps, the armed forces, the Postal Service,I could go on and on but you get the picture (I hope).
And really, come on, the amount you contribute to any one of those is infinitesimal at best, so please, stop your whining about "my tax dollars", puh-leeze.
for some perspective:
Top 5 most expensive road tolls
- Whiteface Mountain Memorial Highway in New York - $1.25 per mile
- 17 Mile Drive in California - $0.59 per mile
- Chicago Skyway in Illinois - $0.51 per mile
- Fort Bend Parkway in Texas - $0.51 per mile
- Delaware Turnpike in Delaware - $0.29 per mile
Top 5 most expensive bridge tolls
- Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in Virginia - $30 round trip
- Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York - $15 one-way
- George Washington Bridge in New York - $13 one-way
- Golden Gate Bridge in California - $7 one-way
- Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington - $5.50 one-way
Top 5 most expensive toll tunnels
- Lincoln and Holland Tunnel in New York - $13 one-way
- Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel in Alaska - $12 one-way
- Fort McHenry Tunnel in Maryland - $8 round trip
- Hugh L. Carey Tunnel in New York - $7.50 one-way
- Queens-Midtown Tunnel in New York - $7.50 one-way
The ny tolls are old, more expensive now:
New Toll Rates at MTA Bridges and Tunnels - Implementation August 6th, 2023
New toll rates are scheduled to be implemented on August 6, 2023
From 2019 to 2021 I worked in the NYC area and travelled between jobsites in jersey city, NJ and Brooklyn 4-5 days a week. With EZ Pass, my tolls were between 500-600 per month.
And I disagree that tolls do anything to lighten traffic. If anything they make it worse.
MWGA. With an uninformed base that could catch on.
I don't know if I'd go that far. I'd settle for better roads, cheaper gas, and feeling like I can leave a vehicle for half a day deep in meth valley without feeling like I was actually asking for it. It's not a big ask nor that political. I would think most folks living here would want the same and those that don't a minority?
wanderingrichard
Life of the Party
Still do
Rob Allen
Life of the Party
This is the truth. Lack of funds is not the problem for anything in government. It's that money is wasted needlessly.
Our governments could and should accomplish more with less..
RCF
Life of the Party
But government believes it could accomplish more with more. Who can argue with that?
FinLuver
Native Oregonian…1846
Yet portions of the Jersey Turnpike has gridlock during the morning commute.Unfortunately, the sad fact is that tolls are the only known method to control gridlock that actually works. And yeah, it impacts the less well off in a bigger way and redirects traffic through more occupied neighborhoods, reducing pedestrian safety but consider this. In most cases these are already roads that you paid for with your tax dollars.
Got to admit I have a general frustration about tax-whiners. You don't want to pay taxes, don't use the services they provide which includes, banks, interstate highways, Social Security, unemployment security, food stamps, the armed forces, the Postal Service,I could go on and on but you get the picture (I hope).
And really, come on, the amount you contribute to any one of those is infinitesimal at best, so please, stop your whining about "my tax dollars", puh-leeze.
Yet portions of the Jersey Turnpike has gridlock during the morning commute.
Garden state Pkwy is often worse. They still have tolls in the middle of the highway (not on exits).
joefromchicago
Steelhead
Living here in Washington, I generally try to avoid the Jersey Turnpike 
but I didn't suggest that it always works, just that it's the only strategy that has any type of effective value. For instance, just adding lanes tends to make the gridlock bigger. I know this because I-5 in North Portland where it bottlenecks down to two lanes has been been a constant rush hour (both morning and in the evening) nightmare.
And if some hoser wrecks his car then, there's no toll that will stop that particular gridlock.
but I didn't suggest that it always works, just that it's the only strategy that has any type of effective value. For instance, just adding lanes tends to make the gridlock bigger. I know this because I-5 in North Portland where it bottlenecks down to two lanes has been been a constant rush hour (both morning and in the evening) nightmare.And if some hoser wrecks his car then, there's no toll that will stop that particular gridlock.
It's definitely the long way to get from the eastside to downtown...
