Quote:
Originally Posted by mylesmalley
It would take getting used to, but it's hardly without precedent. Going down I-95, there has to be a toll every 10 miles in some parts. The sites I suggest would hit people travelling between cities, but not within regions (with the exception of Shediac-Moncton). But in lieu of the larger tolls that they use in Nova Scotia, have lower but more frequent ones.
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There's only three toll roads in Nova Scotia one at Folly Pass ($4), and the two Halifax Harbour Bridges ($1). None of these are costly at all.
My system of how the system should be is firstly creating a "regional" toll authority. This authority would encompass any provincial tolls in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and potentially PEI (depends on how the Confederation Bridge is set-up). This new commission would take over for Halifax Harbour Bridges and the Folly Pass commission (and potentially the Confederation Bridge commission). It would oversee the installation of standard toll booths at the NB-QUE and NB-MAINE border crossings. It would also oversee the installation of three standard tolls located on Highways 1, 2, and 7 between the three large cities. These would be placed as close as possible to the commuter-shed boundaries in order to target long-haul drivers and not locals.
At the Aulac-Amherst (2/104) crossing a pair of toll booths would be installed. Each would charge one direction of travel benefiting the province the toll is physically located in. Part of the deal with Nova Scotia would see a through-permit issued for the Folly Pass toll where drivers who use both Folly Pass and Aulac-Amherst within say a 12-hour span would pay at the first toll, receive a ticket, and use that ticket at the second toll. Both tolls should have identical pricing and a system would be in place so people who pay in Folly Pass but not Aulac would still give NB some money. This would also remove most of the people that detour Folly Pass by using Trunk 4 by removing the benefit.
The benefit of having a regional authority doing this would be convenience, co-operation and efficiency. A MACPASS style system could be implemented across the provinces, the authority could issue ideas like forgiving one toll if a nearby one was already paid, a single authority would reduce overall overhead, and the general funds raised could be used to promote inter-provincial travel and trade.
If PEI currently funds and controls the Confederation Bridge commission it is also welcome to join the group. The idea could also be expanded to run the ferry systems as well.
I also think there should be toll booths on NS Highways 101 (Mount Uniacke-Middle Sackville), 103 (near Hubbards), 104 (Truro-New Glasgow), and the Canso Causeway.