In the 2019 session, the Florida legislature passed a bill starting a process which could lead to the state building another 330 miles of toll roads by 2030.
Senate President Bill Galvano is the strongest proponent of the measure and Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill. Over a hundred miles of toll roads were added when Rick Scott was governor.
The Florida Department of Transportation, interestingly enough, did not request these roads. FDOT was considering widening existing freeways and highways to reduce congestion. New toll roads weren’t in FDOT’s five-year plan.
In the 1970s, I can remember people arriving from New Jersey saying that one of the great things about Florida is that the state isn’t stitched together by toll roads. That was then. Today, Florida has more toll roads than any other state; 719 miles of them the last time I saw a figure. Orange County, for instance, may have more toll roads than any other county in the U.S.
I confess that I am allergic to toll roads. When I use MapQuest or any similar service, I put in the destination and get directions and a distance. Then I check “No Tolls” and recalculate. The distance without toll roads is often a mile or two shorter.
Toll roads won’t necessarily help tourism. Rental car companies have toll transponders on their cars but they often recover that cost by putting it on the customer’s credit card. Customers have also been billed by mail, sometimes with added fees. Class action suits have been filed over these practices.
The Sierra Club has calculated that the additional 330 miles of toll roads would pave over almost 53,000 acres of rural and wilderness lands.
Environmentalists are particularly concerned about intrusion into pristine areas like the Green Swamp, which forms the headwaters of four major rivers. The new toll roads would sever vital connections in the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
Several years ago, the state considered building a highway near Highlands County, the Heartland Parkway. Lindsay Cross, of Florida Conservation Voters, says that the proposed Southwest-Central Florida Connector is trying to resurrect the Heartland Parkway from the dead. We already decided that we don’t want it.
The amount of money collected at toll plazas is hardly trivial. The Miami Herald reports that drivers in Dade and Broward counties pay over $500 million every year. The tolls have been “steadily climbing” for a decade. The Orlando Sentinel reports that one driver saved $1,200 a year by changing her route to work.
Even the legislature shows some awareness of the cost of tolls. A law passed last year says that toll stations have to be five miles apart and requires a two-thirds majority of the governing board to raise a toll.
Are the toll roads we have a success at raising money? Not always. The Suncoast Parkway, which ends in Hernando County, is 42 miles and the charge for traveling the length of it is $4.75. It is not paying for itself.
Senate President Galvano says that putting toll roads through rural counties will spur development. At one hearing, a speaker pointed out that there are many square miles of rural territory adjacent to I-10. The freeway has been there for decades and hasn’t brought development.
Will these new toll roads relieve urban congestion? No, they pass through rural and wilderness areas. Florida is rated 40th in the condition of its infrastructure, which includes roads and bridges. You would think the legislature would be more interested in fixing that problem. First, fix the roads we have.
Dale Gillis is a Sebring resident. Guest columns are the opinion of the writer, not necessarily that of the Highlands News-Sun.
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Another form of socialism which the US practices daily.
It would be interesting to see how America would be if Government were taken out of the economy completely. We could return abortions to the pocketbooks of those killing their own. We could complain about how bad it is for Capitalism to profit from all those toll roads. Return education to the pocketbook of students and their parents. We could even stop Congress from making laws to protect special interests as minorities of any kind. So much Socialism/Communism forced on the majority in the name of The Common Good as represented by another minority. …. Stopping Socialism in America really would be a wonder to behold but I bet some would complain then like they do now.
There's nothing to complain about. Some form of socialism will always be part of America. Those who rail against it can't even define it. Just like Communism - they can't define it but it sounded good on Faux Gnus Propaganda Network so it must be good.
So, Socialism and Communism are the same? Similar? Someone finally admits this? They sounded good on Faux Gnus Propaganda Network and are "Faux"? … The Socialism/Xommuniam may not be part of America if we get back to The Constitution, Bill of Rights and Rule of Law. One day Individual Freedom may rule and special interests will rely on real charity, outside of Government, instead of fake charity, which is political theft, by greedy politicians. There is everything to complain about until Individual Freedoms we were promised are delivered.
Actually not. Tolls are user fees. Only those who use the roads pay for them. Yes, our taxes initially build these roads, but with proper fee structures the roads pay for themselves.
Notice I said PROPER fees, not guestimates such as mentioned in the article. Perhaps you should research socialism before you bloviate?
How about all the tax money used to build the roads before the first toll is paid? How about drivers that never roll on a road but paid those taxes? ….. After tolls pay for the roads the tolls were to stop but now they keep on tolling to repair, employees, etc.. …. Government has found a profit margin to rob. More hidden income. It is used by politicians like working under the table for any illegal.
The one sure fact about Socialism and Communism is that they are not compatible with This Democratic Republic. Americans have allowed Congress to degrade The Founding Documents one law at the time that takes our Individual Freedoms. Today, Americans are finding out just how much freedoms they have given away by approving actions of Congress. Hopefully that error will be corrected. The problem is Congress acting as a Politburo instead of a representative body of The People.
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