I favor a toll on a bridge across the Columbia, but not in the way proposed by the Oregon Legislature. I much prefer the European model, which calls for tolls on the fastest highways and the most convenient bridges, but which also provides that there will always be a toll-free option. That approach would mean that a toll would be charged on only one of our two bridges. Which one? Obviously the super-convenient I-5 pair of bridges, possibly in one direction only. Such a toll would significantly reduce traffic on the I-5 overcrossing, which, as we know, is pretty bad, day in and day out. Of course traffic on the I-205 bridge, which is already overloaded a good deal of the time, would increase significantly. That is a price we’d have to pay.
How about the issue raised in a recent editorial that Washington residents would be hit harder than Oregon residents? That, again, is a price we’d have to pay. Portland’s a great city, but we live in a town which is pretty close to paradise, with its natural beauty, affordable housing, low crime rate, favorable tax structure, and easy access to the cultural advantages of that metropolis across the river. I consider a bridge toll to be a modest price to pay for all those amenities.
