Pfft! The Garden State Parkway and The New Jersey Turnpike are the biggest toll road scams in the nation.
When I lived in Central Florida, the more I heard about Miami, the more I appreciated Orlando.
And yet the tollways are constantly jammed. Guess people don’t mind paying the tolls to get to where they need to be. Anyone who doesn’t want to pay can take surface roads. If anything, the tolls should be increased during rush hour to reduce the gridlock.
Also, is the author Luther Campbell from 2 Live Crew? That would explain the middle school level of writing.
All toll roads are vicious scams that must be eliminated!
I wonder if the Miami-Herald will do an honest investigation on the increased spending, that never seems to end, due to illegal immigration and the recent influx of “refugees” from Puerto Rico. The PRs were getting checks before and they’re going to continue to get checks. The illegals know that all they have to do is, pop out a citizen at the nearest hospital in Miami and they start collecting checks. Those checks cost money. The money has to come from somewhere. And, unless their rich, liberal Master’s allow it, taxes aren’t going to be raised. So, get the money from the folks you can. The ones without any political clout. The one’s that pay the bills.
Its like NJ - you cant leave the state without paying a toll .....
Heck; it's even a tax on those just passing through; like hotels and motels.
Toll roads are not scams. There’s no free lunch. Somebody has to pay for constructing and maintaining highways. Better to have the users pay for them than the general taxpayers. Also, the tolls give users who can delay trips an incentive to delay them from peak hours, thereby relieving the congestion experienced by those who would find delay more costly to them. Package delivery companies follow the same principle when they charge more for expedited service, and only socialists raise soak-the-poor arguments against that.
There are too many roads as is.
>>I remember the days when there was only one toll on State Road 112 when you left Miami International Airport to get to Miami Beach
“FIRST they came for the tourists, but I wasn’t I tourist so I said nothing”
If you look at major cities, this is happening at several levels, not just in transportation.
Houston has outsourced operation of parks and venues to a private entity. The private yet publicly funded convention center bureau was getting $20,000,000 a year with no review of how that money was being spent (something like 60& of employees were receiving $100,000+ a year).
http://abc13.com/politics/city-created-secret-company-to-pay-houston-first-employees/3118766/
In December, ABC13 requested pay information for Houston First employees, including overtime and bonus amounts for each employee. A representative responded and told ABC13 no information existed because the tourism company employed no one.Upon further investigation, ABC13 uncovered CCSI and asked it for the same pay information. There is no mention of CCSI in Houston First budget documents this year or its annual outside audit.
The same representative from HoustonFirst, but this time on CCSI letterhead, told ABC13 that the information was not public and the company would appeal to the Attorney General to keep the pay information secret, claiming the employees did not work for the city of Houston. Those employees sit in government-owned chairs, at government-owned desks, doing government jobs, despite CCSI’s claim they are not government employees...
CCSI employs 232 people. Sixty of them make more than $100,000 a year. Ten make more than $200,000.
Those traffic light cameras were also a public-private partnership (where half of the ticket money went to the connected interests, sometimes with private kickback for the members of the police who were bought by lobbyists).
https://www.thenewspaper.com/news/52/5205.asp
Speaking publicly in favor of red light cameras is earning favors for Texas police officers. Garland Police Lieutenant Pedro J. Barineau appeared in a political advertisement generated on behalf of the red light camera industry in full uniform.“Any legislation that would outlaw the use of automated red light enforcement sends a dangerous message,” the officer intones. “Let's not send that message, keep red light cameras in Texas.”
As Texas is one of the four most lucrative markets for automated ticketing, Redflex Traffic Systems of Australia and American Traffic Solutions (ATS) have poured a great deal of cash into lobbying in Austin. In some cases, however, taxpayers are the ones footing the bill for the lobbying.
And the stadium revenue from concerts, etc. doesn't all go to the city (even though we are the landlord).
Cities have SOLD YOU OUT to connected private interests who want "their" money coming in every month.
What’s scarey about all this is that there are some poorer states that are going to look at this & think they can make it work for them. People on fixed income aren’t traveling much as it is,so I guess they will stay home & die.
I predicted then that eventually we would have technology to read license plates and that motorists would be billed monthly for using the roadways. Tolls would rapidly expand and increase from that point on.
It was like when credit cards first came out. People thought it was great to pay for goods and services without the inconvenience of handing over cash (and waiting to receive change). Then the monthly bill came and often consumers would pay the conveniently suggested "minimum payment" as their balance grew larger and larger.
My monthly toll bill is now averaging $60 a month! It's hard to believe there was a time not too long ago when I kept a few quarters in my cupholder and that was enough to take care of whatever tolls I ran into. Those were halycon days!