Toll idea advances despite opposition

I-4 we've got a problem- too many cars, not enough road. Are tolls the solution?

State officials are calling the concept a highway within a highway. The toll lanes would be called Xpress 400; the state-highway designation for I-4 is State Road 400.

"The way we look at this, we're not tolling the interstate. Tolling the interstate would suggest you're converting existing lanes to toll lanes, and you're tolling all the lanes," said Jim Ely, chief operating officer of Florida's Turnpike Enterprise. "We're not doing that. We're adding new capacity, which is user-financed, and not tax-financed."

The lanes would be open only to people with electronic transponders that can tally tolls by radio signals even at high speeds. Fares would be adjusted frequently to try to encourage or discourage more traffic to get into the toll lanes. For example, when traffic backs up on the toll lanes, the price will go up to discourage more drivers from getting on them.

Rather than solving the problem I see this creating a whole new set of problems. Callers suggested a monorail for locals as part of a workable solution. Also staggering the workforce release at two of our biggest employers Disney & Lockheed Martin. What's your solution?