It sounds appealing, but it could well be taking us down a muddled road.
After next month's provincial election, the tolls on the two newest bridges in the Lower Mainland will either be reduced or removed entirely, depending on which party forms government.
These promises are definitely good news to those who regularly cross the Port Mann and Golden Ears bridges, but I wonder what it means for transportation funding in Greater Vancouver.
For a number of years, municipal politicians have struggled to come up with equitable and lucrative funding sources for a myriad of transportation improvements proposed for the region. These are big ticket items that require serious cash, but how to raise that money has proved to be problematic.
Gas taxes, property taxes, even adding a half-point to the sales tax, which was shot down in a plebiscite a couple of years ago, have either been implemented or considered, but at this point regional politicians still require something more.
After the failed plebiscite, talk began to shift to some sort of road pricing model, the idea being that it made the most sense to have those that use the transportation network pay to improve it.
All kinds of details would have to be worked out - what roads, how much, time of day, etc. - if this proposal were to move forward, but I can't help but think the idea was dealt a significant blow by the populist promises made during the first week of the provincial campaign.
How do you start charging drivers for using previously free highways and crossings when the province is reducing or eliminating tolls on the only two places where they're levied now? It was always going to be a tough sell to have drivers pay to travel routes they navigate for free today, but it will be even more difficult to do so if bridge tolls are reduced or eliminated.
I assume regional politicians could still proceed with road pricing in light of the toll promises, and given there are only so many revenue streams available to them that's a distinct possibility, but should they do so it would create quite the double standard - provincial politicians are making it easier on beleaguered drivers while those at the regional level look to dig into their wallets.
