Yeah, the more I think about tolls, the more I think they are a good idea. Plus, there are some cool innovations with smart tolls.
This is an article by Andrew Coyne of the National Post from last year:
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/...-traffic-woes/
I would take it with a grain of salt as I think Coyne's know-it-all attitude on all economic matters doesn't necessarily translate to knowing everything when it comes to transport or transit or anything of the sort. It is an opinion piece, however, he isn't really qualified to give an informed opinion (but I digress...) What is valuable in the article is his suggestion of smart tolls. These tolls will have transponders in cars and the more you drive, the more you pay, and you get a bill at the end of the month. Certain roads will cost more than others, say in the downtown centre they will cost the most, or at certain hours, roads will cost more. I think this is a brilliant and innovative proposal coming from a rapidly growing industry for smart technologies.
However, it's an interesting idea in theory, I am hesitant on applicability, and perhaps our traffic problems aren't bad enough to warrant it at all - maybe for the future. But let's say there was a toll on the CBC by-pass just before leaving CBS. It's the only way out (other than Topsail Road) so you would be obliged to pay. This would do a number of good things - it would discourage leaving CBS and would reduce the amount of trips taken in a day (my mom at times, takes a few trips back and forth from CBS to St.John's in a single day). This could also potentially encourage more commercial activity in CBS as residents may want to avoid leaving the Town (this would be a fantastic development). It would also be a promising revenue stream for funding transit infrastructure - a great first step in gaining funds for capital investment and would help mitigate the approximate 10 million/year subsidy to Metrobus from the City.