While the toll roads are under construction, motorists should be allowed to drive free or at a reduced fee. Certainly tolls for roads are user taxes that I typically don’t oppose. But a toll for roads under construction is highway robbery at its best, and imposing a threat of hefty fines for defying the bandits of the blacktop for skipping a coin-flick is injury added to insult.
During a recent two-plus-hour trek in near-standstill traffic to Rockford, it occurred to me that I was paying a full toll for a road when only one of three lanes was open. Orange and white barricades heralded construction crews, but none were in sight. Funny, though, four-plus lanes were open at all cash boxes. Dutifully, I tossed in my change, then suddenly thought, “Why am I paying full price for one-third the product, poor service and added frustration?”
Could anyone else but the government get away with this? Could a restaurant serve only half a dinner and still demand full fare? Could a retail store sell you a suit and only deliver a jacket? Would a grocer charge you for a pound of meat if only a third was available? No!
Then why pay full price for a toll road when only half the lanes are open?
Having been born in the ’50s raised in the ’60s and college-bound in the early ’70s, the rebellion of my youth flared. Why are we tolerating this? I-Passers, demand charge-backs on your Visas! The ’90s brought us road rage. What’s next? Toll rage?
