Oregon drivers should expect tolls in the near future

Posted April 19, 2023

By Kim Phan

Opinions Editor

Although highway tolls have been expected by Oregonians for years, it’s still quite unexpected to consider the next time travel will not be free. It was noted as soon as 2017, when the Oregon legislature passed House Bill 2017 also dubbed as “Keep Oregon moving”.  Its main concern was to address the problems with the crowded transportation system and congestion during the peak hours throughout the day. The bill would also provide hundreds of millions of dollars in projects that will be able to support all kinds of problems in our transportation system in the region and all over the state. This legislature would work on a number of projects that would upgrade both biking, walking, and pub transportation facilities. That doesn’t mean that it won’t leave behind the highways that provide a segway for commuters to travel efficiently. 

The Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC) was directed and told to pursue multiple ways on how to implement tolls on I-5 and I-205 in the Portland Metro region to help manage traffic congestion. It will begin with two new bridge tolls on Interstate 205 and Interstate 5, which is one of the most frequently used routes to get from city to city in Oregon.  

At first glance, that may seem like a valid solution to combat the congestion during peak traffic hours, however there are concerns that it would provide many low-income residents even more burdens to deal with. In the next coming years, there will be per-mile tolls on all lanes of Interstates 5 and 205 which will develop to expand. 

A toll is a user feed. But rather, it’s a fee that a user must make if they want to drive on a road or a bridge. Many other countries implement this kind of rule on certain expressways or roads. This has been used for centuries to pay for construction and maintenance of the facility they are used for. 

There won’t be any toll booths that will require people to stop at toll booths and pay their fee. This is a new technique that would also be able to address some concerns that vehicles would have to stop and pay their toll fees instead of continuously traveling. 

Historically, large trucks have paid a higher toll, but every driver will pay the same amount regardless of time. However, the system Oregon plans to implement is something different through its tolling legislature. Drivers will be charged higher fees during peak traffic hours in order to act as an incentive for reducing the number of times that drivers will commute during those times if they had the option. It’s unclear however if there will still be fees charged on drivers at other hours of the day when traffic is few and far in between. These are officially deemed variable rate tolls and it has been proven to manage traffic on highways resulting in faster, more efficient and predictable trips. The already limited highway space is opened much wider for more drivers to use their transportation efficiently and effectively. 

Many community members as well as activists have been severely critical of the new legislation to take place despite the previous reasoning in its justification for the highway tolls. While tolling has historically succeeded as a way to manage traffic, there could also be some disparities present for low income communities. 

The tolls could quickly collect into mounting potential costs on commuters who will travel far back and forth on the freeways. That would undoubtedly put financial strain on commuters particularly those of color as well. The state had many ways to address commuting and traffic congestion, yet this is a fragmented approach that doesn’t really give us the full picture of what the future would look like with these tolls and if it would be proven effective at all. 

There are also many concerns that this approach wouldn’t merely nudge drivers off peak hours but rather force them to use the back roads which is a worry by itself because that would only increase congestion on those roads. Which means none of the problems have been truly targetted or resolved. Tolls wouldn’t only be a way to address the concerns over traffic stacking up on the interstates but also be a way to support the road maintenance budget that has already taken its hit due to the pandemic, state gas tax, and increase in more efficient and gas free electric vehicles. The idea to implement the tolls in the first place would spur drivers to either avoid the area and take another route, this could also delay trips until the highway moves more freely and drivers could use different routes. Although the previous problem was to resolve congestion, many projections express that bumper to bumper traffic would take over Oregon CIty streets which is incredibly concerning because that is the complete opposite of our goals. There would be increased pollution from idling cars which seeks to reverse the impact that we have implemented to fight climate change. Impatient drivers who are used to driving on fast paced long highway roads will have to adjust to the slower traffic in back roads as well as traffic lights. This would make it all the more likely to cause accidents and more congestion.