It affects me some. I live in Bellevue right between the two (520/90) and I drive the 545 (Bear Creek P&R in Redmond down 5th ave in Downtown and back) so I expect to see a lot more people.

At least once a month I expect I will drive it in my personal vehicle to see the Dr or the PD folks. On my way home I will take 90. In the Spring/Summer I expect to have the Sea Kitten moored in Edmonds and expect to make 3 - 5 trips up there. I will be in a hurry to get there and not so much on the way home, so 520 there and 90 home.

How does the toll affect you? How long until tolling comes your way?

Have a nice day.

Tolling is the wave of the future. People want roads and bridges and don't want taxes. That leave tolls. It seems like a pretty fair way to pay for something - by charging those who us it.

Lots of toll roads in Florida. Plenty in Oklahoma too.

You might find this interesting.

http://www.statemaster.com/graph/trn_tol_roa_mil-transportation-toll-road-mileage

Tolls suck.
You had better have a tub of quarters if you ever drive the urban NE US expressways.
It's a PITA.

Hopefully they don't get a foothold here.
Better to pay up front.

Mass Pike...."when it's paid for we'll drop the tolls"
Not.

Tolls are here to stay and with electronics will be charged on all roads. Ever wonder why the feds do not make a all out push for non oil transport? How do you collect a gas tax on non gas cars? Tolls! Get used to it as despite all the PC BS user fees are the way the future works.

The crime of it all is after all the bluster about taxes and tolls and political infighting, our political system continues to drift towards a super in-efficient method of paying for things -- metered user fees.

You know on reason why the internet is so cheap effective? It's largely unmetered. Which ENCOURAGES usage, which further drives the pricing down.

Metering is a MASSIVE cost center -- and then you add bill printing/presentment, bill collections, audits, the inevitable court case over some mis-calculated bill, and you have a super *inefficient* way of paying for things. BUT --- it cannot be assailed along the currently most effective method of sowing political discord -- convincing people they should never, ever pay for anything that benefits another person.

So as a result, we are trending towards an increasingly EXPENSIVE method of funding all manner of things, with far more infrastructure/oversight to manage all this muddle. But at least those who never drive that particular stretch of road won't be able to bitch about it. Of course we all pay 2x as much for all the stuff we *do* use, but that's the cross we're willing to bear I guess.

FWIW -- I do recognize the other extreme is likely to fail as well, but my sense is we're FAR too willing to accept user fees for things (even to advocate them) versus doing the hard work to keep things trim and efficient.

Exactly IR .. . . ..I am against giving those greedy irresponsible ratbastards any more of my money until they can prove they are trustworthy and effecient with what they already have .. .. .

Some want to make tolls permanent which is akin to red light and speed cameras.

Younger son works for Verizon in the South Bay area. Uses the San Mateo Bridge so much he has a card that allows driving thru w/o a
stop. He gets a monthly bill for his lack of trouble at the Kiosk.
Just another way to get in your pocket.

There is an opening for you peckerhead.

I was struck by the announcement of how much the 520 toll is, something like $3.50 each way if you have a pass and $5.00 if the camera has to read your license plate. I understand that inflation has driven up the cost of everything, but you oldsters will recall that when 520 was built the toll was $0.25 and included the cost of DOT toll booths on the bridge. Not only that, the bridge was paid for something like 10 or more years earlier than predicted due to higher than estimated usage. And then the toll ended, and the toll booths were removed. I wouldn't expect that the new bridge can be built for anywhere the price of the old one, but a way more than 10 X cost increase must be intended to pay for more than just a bridge.

Sg

PS: Since I don't have any reason to use 520 regularly, I won't buy a pass, and I'll probably just avoid the bridge because $5.00 seems unreasonably high. Hell even the new Narrows bridge is only $3.50 without a pass, and they only charge going one way.

"There is an opening for your peckerhead."

Sorry I'm not gay. You'll have to find someone else. And pull your pants up for gods sake.

$4 on the narrows now but yes it is only heading into Tacoma. No charge leaving.

I kinda figure it should go the other way as who the hell wants to go to tacoma. Much nicer heading outbound toward the OP. That I feel better about paying for.

Like IR said it's not just paying for the bridge it's paying for the administration of the tolls. we've created another money pit. And once the bridge(s) are paid for we'll need to either make the tolls permanent or create new tolls because govt will have become addicted to the revenue and it will "cost jobs" to stop tolls.

Metered user fees will always cost more to administer than it would cost to pay for the service with taxes...you can't have it both ways, complain about taxes to pay for it, get your wish of no taxes to pay for it, and then complain about the user fee.

If you use it a lot, you're paying a lot more in the long run than you would have if you agreed to pay for it out of taxes instead of user fees.

If you never use it, you aren't paying for it now.

I plan on using it "almost never"...and can mostly take I-90 just as easily as 520.

Fish on...

Todd

Sorry, I don't use the term 'gay' as the modern vernacular requires.
Cousin's wife is named Gay.
In your case pecker head was not a referral to your possible sexual
preferences. Just a descriptive noun name.
I guess I could have used nipple noggin.
btw If you are going to quote me, at least get it right.

You think a lot about dicks, peckers, nipples and now your cousins gay wife when you aren't whining about name calling.

I don't plan on using 520 at all but it's not stopping there. Hot lanes are in the works. Entire roads will be tolled. Some day entire cities will probably be tolled. It'll cost $20 to enter Seattle. What we most likely won't see is tolls east of the mountains where all roads are paid for by those who live west of the mountains.

How do I work that ignore button again ? ? ?

Every time someone says we continually vote for no new taxes or lower taxes, I think they don't have a grasp of how we actually vote. We continually vote yes on school levies, we vote yes to keep medic 1, ocassionally we send a message NO vote.

People are tired of a straight 5-4 party line vote by Seattle City Council.

When the voters initially voted yes for Sound Transit it was sold as XXXXX billions from Seattle to the U District. It turned out to be a line from Seattle to almost the airport. Our traffic issues aren't from downtown to the airport yet we spent billions on a line that doesn't help commuters on the I-5 corridor.

Even when we voted for a line from Seattle to the U District, the EIS said it would remove ZERO cars from the highways. It would only switch people from buses to rail. Tell me how that helps anyone...?

We have one of the highest fuel taxes in the country which means the people who drive the most contribute the most.

There is already tolls on all carpool lanes, it's called tickets.

Thank God we live here because we are all germ free. Only state in the country that can claim it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoHUr26CTQo