Wouldn't it be ironic if in its last few years of life the George Massey Tunnel once again became a tolled crossing? OK, so ironic might not be the first word that springs to mind if you were suddenly forced to pay a fee to traverse the antiquated tube, but as crazy as it sounds, it's not out of the realm of possibility.
Quick to apply tolls to new crossings, politicians have been loath to attach the same fees to existing infrastructure for fear of being labeled as blood suckers. There are a number of reasons, including the fact those blood suckers need more of our money to fund transportation improvements, why that situation just might change.
However, it's more than just a money grab that has politicians entertaining the idea of placing tolls on existing spans. We are already headed down a road where some crossings are tolled and others are not, a situation that will end up choking the free alternatives and creating an uneven playing field depending on where you live.
With two new bridges now in operation and two more in various stages of planning, there will soon be fewer free alternatives, which will become a magnet for the cost-conscious commuter. We're already seeing where a toll on the new Port Mann Bridge has pushed traffic to the Pattullo Bridge. Can you imagine a scenario where there are also new crossings at the Pattullo and the tunnel? If that were the case, the only free option, the Alex Fraser Bridge, would undoubtedly become a parking lot.
In that scenario, it would also mean those south of the Fraser River would be the ones stuck holding the bill, although you could argue they would also be the ones realizing the benefits of network improvements. That doesn't get around the fact other drivers in the region would be able to undertake their daily travel toll-free, so there's a question of equality when some routes are tolled and others aren't.
I suspect both the chokepoint and fairness issues will get some play in the months ahead as mayors throughout the region continue to grapple with ways to fund transportation upgrades. There's also a possibility they explore some sort of road pricing, rather than tolls, in order to capture drivers that might not cross a bridge but still add to traffic congestion in Greater Vancouver.
They wouldn't be popular, that's for sure, but region-wide tolls could be justified in order to spread the pain as well as the traffic volume. The fact they'd be a cash cow is just icing on the cake.
