A think-tank at McGill University believes it can solve the Colwood crawl: Start charging toll fees on congested urban roads. The theory, at least, is simple.
If there鈥檚 no price for driving on city streets, more people will choose to do so. Eventually, in geographically constricted areas like Greater Victoria, the inevitable result is gridlock.
On the other hand, if motorists must pay a fee to use these roads, fewer will do so.
Ontario adopted this approach to reduce congestion in the Toronto area. The province built a toll road around the city, with fees of 20 cents per kilometre for off-peak hours, and 35 cents a kilometre during rush hour. Motorists using this route reduced their commute time by between 18 and 36 per cent.
And time, of course, is money. By one estimate, traffic delays in Greater 91原创 cost businesses and motorists $1.4 billion a year. While no exact figures exist for the capital region, a rough estimate would be $200 million.
Then there is the issue of pollution. Vehicles caught in slow-moving traffic take longer to reach their destinations, and in the process, emit more exhaust fumes. They also consume more fuel.
In short, there is no dispute that traffic congestion imposes financial and environmental costs. What, then, are the options?
High-occupancy vehicle lanes can help by encouraging people to car-pool. But these require wider highways with more lanes in each direction than would be practical around Victoria.
So are tolls the answer? Let鈥檚 do some basic math.
A daily commute from Langford to downtown Victoria and back covers about 40 kilometres. Taking the fees around Toronto as an example, and assuming the commute occurs during rush hours, the daily toll charge would be $14.
However, that鈥檚 only part of the price. To measure the distance driven by each motorist, every vehicle using the toll road has to be fitted with a transponder.
This device uses a tracking system to record and transmit the distance driven. Toronto charges $3.55 per month to lease a transponder, plus 90 cents per trip.
Add those fees, and the cost of a five-day weekly commute between Langford and Victoria comes to about $80.
There鈥檚 no question a charge that high would chase some motorists off any road with tolls. So yes, this would reduce congestion.
But at what price? Assuming most of these trips are work-related, they鈥檙e not discretionary.
If there鈥檚 a convenient bus route nearby, that is a reasonable and even preferable alternative. Yet many commuters lack this option.
There is also the reality that a toll system would weigh most heavily on low-income motorists and small businesses. That makes it a blunt instrument, with significant fairness issues.
Let鈥檚 take a different starting point. What the capital region really needs is an effective transit system. Far too many outlying districts have inadequate service, or in some cases, none at all.
Together, local municipalities and the provincial government give $71 million in grants to the Victoria Regional Transit authority each year. Comparatively speaking, that might seem reasonable. Our transit system carries 35 per cent more passengers per capita than similar-sized cities across the country,
Yet the Saanich Peninsula imposes geographic constraints that other cities might not face. We must also deal with a large non-resident population in the form of tourists.
Increasing the transit agency鈥檚 grant by 50 per cent or even doubling it would permit a major expansion of bus routes across the region.
True, that鈥檚 a substantial investment. But compared with projects such as the new sewage-treatment plant, budgeted at $788 million, it鈥檚 cheap. And if congestion is reduced, it saves us money.
