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Bottom line; Editorial; Beaver County Times; January 24, 2010.
I believe you’ll find all of this editorial’s talking points have already been covered by previous Times editorials dating back to at least 2007.
As I’ve written previously, I’m all for placing tolls on all limited access highways where practical. We’d use the toll revenue collected for a road or bridge only for the “care and feeding” of that road or bridge. For example, tolls collected on the Monaca-Rochester Bridge could not be used for the Vanport Bridge. This isn’t farfetched. Those of us old enough to remember will recall the Monaca-East Rochester Bridge was tolled from its opening in 1959 until 1973.
The Times, however, wants I-80 tolls to be used to transfer wealth from I-80 drivers to users of other roads and government-owned and run bus systems like BCTA and PAT.
Regarding I-80 and I-90 being toll roads outside of Pennsylvania, the editorial fails to note these were toll roads (Indiana, Ohio, & Massachusetts turnpikes and the New York State Thruway) before they were designated interstates. This is the same as the PA Turnpike (designated I-76).
Regarding the non-tolled/tolled comparison of I-86 and I-90 in New York, this appears to be a bogus comparison, though I’m not an expert. While both are east-west roads as the editorial claims, the roads have very different routes and destinations. Indeed, from what I can tell I-86 (mostly overlaying existing roads) currently goes only about halfway across NY adjacent to the PA border and will eventually end at the north-south section of the NYS Thruway in downstate New York. It passes through mostly rural country nowhere near population centers. I-90 crosses NY about 75 miles farther north than I-86 (passing by/through Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, Schenectady, and Albany) and continues nonstop to Boston.
The editorial asserts, “I-80 has been open for more than three decades, and development has been sparse. If growth were to have taken place, it would happened by now.” Though for only about 20 years, the same would appear to be true for Toll Route 60 [James E. Ross (D) Highway] (now also I-376), yet dating back to at least 2005 the Times supports throwing more money at it. Why the different conclusions?
The editorial wraps up with “Opponents of tolling I-80 have worked themselves into a self-righteous frenzy over this matter. The bottom line, though, is that Pennsylvania has no other option when it comes to funding roads, bridges and transit.” This paragraph demonstrates two primary traits of Times editorials. First, demonize the opposition (“Opponents … worked themselves into a self-righteous frenzy.”) in an attempt to diminish them. This means you don’t have to address the opposition’s arguments. Second, have you noticed there is always “no other option” other than the position of the Times?
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