It
is time to terminate the toll tax
Our
view
It’s
been called the devil’s highway,
to be kind. Its lanes instigate war-like
curse words and frustrations as drivers
plunge from the ramps onto its automotive
battlefield.
Few uncensored words can fully describe the atrocious vehicular nature of quite
possibly the worst freeway in the history of mankind — the 405.
And the government wants to charge you for it because they need money. Surprise,
surprise! Imagine that — a charge to use the worst freeway when the better
ones of the world are free. It’s un-American. It’s insane. It’s
highway robbery, literally.
Please hand the man your money so that you can wait in a concrete line for
a few hours to go 10 miles. Those hard-earned dollars are going to be unlavishly
spent on the freeway that pisses off the entire county.
Luckily, the plans for a toll on the 405 are only for the carpool lanes. But
this makes the idea even worse because the carpool lanes are meant to be a
reward for putting fewer cars on the streets, which, as a result, helps the
air contain that much less smog and helps our pocketbooks contain that much
more money.
And while it’s depressing that even the carpool lanes around here get
backed up, imagine the pitfalls of hope when there is a charge to get such
sorrow. Prescription anti-depressant sales could be through the roof for pharmacies
off the 405.
According to a Long Beach Press-Telegram article, the idea was labeled “dead
on arrival” but we cannot be so sure. Crazy things happen in California,
possibly due to varied weather and a strong sense of identity.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky was quoted saying, “I’ll
believe it when I see...this or any other governor standing on the Mulholland
overpass cutting the ribbon on the first toll scanner.”
If Schwarzenegger thinks the nurses and teacher protests are bad, try to picture
the furious anger of Angelenos should ribbon be publicly cut on a toll scanner.
There would be riots and petitions for his total recall, a terminating judgment
day full of collateral damage and true lies. It would be the end of days — his.
Considering the governor’s promise to not raise taxes, his potential
approval of the plan to take money away from the people would most definitely
be an eraser on his political career. He and former governor Gray Davis would
be practically twins.
Angelenos will not stand for the toll. In the effort to raise money for construction,
motorists would probably not bother to pay and just take the regular lanes.
The plan would be ruined. On the other hand, it could also increase the carpool
lane’s congestion if many people paid thinking it would quicken the commute.
It seems likely, however, that most people simply won’t pay for the use
of the lane when they are already paying high prices for the basic costs of
living like gas, food and housing.
The plan is simply ridiculous. It’s comparable to paying money for weekly
root canals. May this plan never touch the warm Southern Californian sun. We
should pay a committee to send it somewhere else. Florida comes to mind. |
