Tolls – Clearing Up Some Misconceptions (3/6/08) - WDRB 41 Louisville - News, Weather, Sports Community

When you only have 75 seconds to do an editorial, it's not possible to discuss every detail of a subject.

Case in point - last week's Point of View on bridge tolls.

Several people objected to such an idea, insisting tollbooths would hamper the smooth flow of traffic. But no toll proposal currently under consideration involves toll booths at all. Instead, a combination of electronic sensors and cameras would allow local drivers to have tolls automatically deducted from prepaid passes, while out-of-towners could be identified by their license number and billed by mail.

Meanwhile, others complained that daily tolls would just be one more expense they just can't afford. But when you consider the money most interstate commuters currently waste on fuel because they have to go too far out of their way to get from point A to point B -- or idle in crawling rush hour traffic -- the savings they'd realize from the more direct routes and reduced congestion two new bridges would provide would probably be greater than the cost of the tolls. At least that's what recent studies show.

There's certainly room for debate on this issue. But it's important to have all the facts before taking any stand.

I'm Bill Lamb, and that's my...Point of View.