I know I'm WAY late to this party, life's been busy... Thirty-two years ago, in 1987, with Tommy Hazouri as our Mayor, Jacksonville voters abolished toll roads/booths. Now they are coming back. So just HOW and WHEN did the voters get the opportunity to vote yes or no for the return of these beasts? I don't recall hearing anybody voicing opinions one way or the other; it seems as if it was just foist upon the taxpayers. Fill me in? How does something happen without the voters? Thx.
Let's not forget though that gas taxes haven't risen at the federal level since shortly after Jacksonville's toll bridges were abolished. Sure, Florida has increased them to keep pace with inflation, but that doesn't do a lot of good when fuel economy has increased to the point that a gallon of gas gets you twice as far in 2019 than it did in 1987.
The roads aren't going to pay for themselves.
I actually think the new toll roads are smartly, and fairly, implemented.
The existing roads maintain multiple free lanes for those who don't want to - or can't afford to - pay a premium for express lanes. And the proceeds from the express lanes are used to pay off the new lanes and eventually add additional capacity.
The express lanes (I believe) become free during off-hours, and those utilizing public transit also get to enjoy the benefit of the express lanes without paying the toll.
Unpopular opinion, but I'll take more toll roads, more aggressive congestion pricing, or a higher gas tax reflecting the true cost of transit over continuing to have the lower working class subsidize thousands of white collar workers commuting into and out of the city from St. Johns County every day. Especially if we can get our act together with mass transit in this city.
God forbid, long-term, we might even see more rational land-use patterns start to develop, instead of just spreading everything out wherever there's open land.