This past week, while reading the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's (AJC) Metro section online, I came across yet another proposal for a private consortium to fix our roads and attach tolls to do so.
The Washington Group, who proposed the controversial upgrade of GA 316 from Lawrenceville to Athens as a toll expressway, now has their eyes on US 19/GA 400. Please click here for the AJC article.
Right now, the Georgia DOT is preparing to widen US 19/GA 400 from Holcomb Bridge Road (Exits 7A-B) in Roswell to McFarland Road (Exits 12A-B) in Forsyth County. Considering the bottleneck we, 400's "regulars", experience every day on 400 in that stretch of road, it's about time!!!
Under the Washington Group's plan, the existing project would be enhanced to add toll lanes all the way to GA 20 (Exit 14) in Cumming and issue drivers transponders that would track their usage and bill them accordingly.
And now, here are my thoughts...
While I am for transportation projects being completed as soon as possible, I have major problems with private companies essentially taking over public roads and charging tolls for us to drive on them.
First of all, the transponders would be giving "big brother" way too much information from the standpoint of collecting data on our driving. If the technology enables the government (or any private firm) to collect tolls, then what stops them from enhancing it to track other things? In other words, our own civil liberties could be potentially compromised with this technology. Think about it.
Second, as for toll roads in general, the government should just build them from scratch such as what was done with the section of GA 400 from I-85 to I-285. Even then, once the tolls have paid for any bond indebtedness incurred by the government, the tolls should be immediately removed. At the end of 2003, Georgia did remove the toll from the F.J. Torras Causeway that runs between Brunswick and Saint Simons Island.
Finally, the government should do something about what is causing the need to expand the roads... overdevelopment. Please click here to read my thoughts from a previous blog.
What are your thoughts?
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3 comments:
So in reading that proposal, this is the same firm that pushed the GA 316 toll road that was rejected by the public last Spring. So what's the story on GA 316 now? Is the idea now to build a freeway, or is it to do nothing at all?
Tolling existing freeways that the public already payed to build is theft pure and simple. If the DOT needs more money to maintain the roads and build adequate infrastructure than they need to adjust the fuel tax...
See my post here: http://georgiaroadgeek.blogspot.com/2006/01/countdown-to-d-day-on-ga-400.html#comments
The GA400 tollbooths should have been ripped out in 1993....they promised to do so when they had paid for the 400 Extension...now they are collecting FREE MONEY! More than $50,000 per DAY!!! Use that money to widen Ga 400 all the way to Dahlonega!!
>:(
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