What is this “toll road”?
When people come to Chicago from other states, they are baffled by our toll roads. When I moved back here from California, my Mr. Man (raised in Oxnard, California) didn’t understand why we had so many tolls.
Mr. Man: Oh yeah, we have these in California. You pay to go express, right?
Me: No, you just pay
Mr. Man: I don’t get it. What do you get out of it?
Me: Construction, Which means more traffic
Mr. Man: Dude, you guys got ripped off
And we are about to get ripped off a whole lot more. Twice as much more. Instead of 40 cents, drivers without an I-Pass will be forking over 80 cents. That means, on a trip to go camping at Devil’s Lake via I-90, you’re gonna be paying about a gazillion dollars. Seriously, for reals. I did the math, and it is exactly a gazillion.
My littlest cousin from Wisconsin, was wise enough at the ripe old age of 6 to say, “I know we are in Illinois when Daddy has to get his wallet”. I get the feeling that all the other states are in stitches. [ link via chicagoist ]
Dunno…toll-roads are pretty common out East, and there are alternate routes you can take without paying. The current plan actually seems like a good idea as long as you can put yourself in suspended animation for the ten years it’ll take to resturcture the roads!
Do you remember the construction-themed pinball machine “Road Show?” You can tell it was made in Chicago on this alone:
Chicago (Evil Toll Roads)
You have 15 seconds to blow up four toll booths. Each Loop and Ramp corresponds to a booth. The first one is worth 7M, the next 10M, the third 15M, and the fourth 20M.
Hitting the Magic Standup blows up one of the booths (once only).
Starting quotes:
Red: “Hey look Ted, Chicago.”
Ted: “I HATE toll roads.”
Red: “We’ll fix that!”
Tolls in Chicago aren’t that bad, but try getting from Chicago over to the east, Indiana hits you for ~$8 and Pennsylvannia (going through only ½ of it mind you) will get you for ~$9.
The toll God is Curt Hartman. Call him for answers/advice. 847 695-7755
I support toll roads, they provide economic incentives for people to find a situation in which they can live and work without having to use their car. I think this change should be gradual. The proposed doubling is too much and I bet that this is just a negoitation thing, and that people without IPASS will end up paying 50 or 60 cents a pop.