[LS]

There was a time when all roads were privately built---"turnpikes" they were called. But the problem was that people found backwoods paths through to the road miles down where they didn't have to pay to "turn the pike." These were called "shunpikes." The concept of private roads was good, and would have been profitable, but the builders couldn't prevent a form of "piracy" or free rider usage.

Today, we have the technology to do so (if you don't pay your bill, a scanner would shut your car off), but that would result in lawsuits and would not be practical in today's legal climate.

[GeronL]

If they didn’t use the road, then they shouldn’t pay. You should not be able to force people to use your road instead of walking through the woods (by definition not your road)