My daily commute along the Dulles Toll Road has been much, much more
manageable lately. So clear that, thankfully, I run the risk of
getting a speeding ticket most days. On the other hand, my alternate
route, Route 7 through Great Falls, has remained as crowded as ever.
While
the quicker drive on the Toll Road, could be attributable to completion
of portions of construction of the Silver Line, a report shows that in
the first quarter of 2012, traffic on the Dulles Toll Road was 1% lower over
the same period last year. That decline coincides with a 25 cent
increase in the toll at the main toll plaza, effectively following
elementary economic theory - the higher the tolls, the fewer the
drivers.
Given that absolutely nothing else is working to reduce
traffic in this area, I am all for higher tolls on the Dulles Toll Road.
Call me an elitist pig, but I would gladly pay another $1-2 per day
to cut my round trip commute time by 10-20 minutes. In fact, those
tolls would probably be less than the taxes I’d pay for construction of
new roads and there’s a far more direct effect on my own commute. In short, the higher the tolls, the fewer crappy drivers in my life.
Count me in!
UPDATED at 9:30 on 5/8: Courtesy of David Dickinson, it looks like I have more to look forward to. MWAA plans toll increases that will decrease toll road usage by 18% next year alone! Woo hoo.
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