Big toll proposals for Montreal and Toronto

The mayors of Montreal and Toronto may be proposing extensive tolling of now free roads in Canada's two largest metro areas. Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay is reported to be proposing tolls to finance a 20 year transport improvement plan to be officially released shortly. In Toronto a financial advisory panel has suggested toll concessions in the greater Toronto area as a revenue stream for transport improvements.

The proposal was sparked by a study published by a business group in January by economist Harry Kitchen which advocates tolls on all 400 series highways, Queen Elizabeth Way, Gardiner Expressway, Don Valley parkway as well as some non-expressway arterials.

More recently a Fiscal Review Panel recommended in a Blueprint report that Kitchen's proposal be developed further, suggesting toll concession rights be considered for sale:

"Some rough estimates of the present net value of tolling rights for the 400 level highways (full expressways), the Don Valley Parkway and the Gardiner are in excess of $7 billion."

The Panel added this recommendation to the City: "This option is clearly worth exploring immediately." (p67, 68)

400 level highways are owned by the Province of Ontario, but the idea is that the City where they are located would do some kind of revenue sharing with the province.

Two under way

In Montreal two new toll projects are already in procurement as concessions:

(1) Highway 25 extension north 7.2km (4.4 miles) north out of Montreal over the Riviere des Praires to Laval

http://www.mtq.gouv.qc.ca/portal/page/portal/entreprises_en/zone_fournisseurs/centre_affaires/projets_routiers/parachevement_a25

(2) Highway 30, in two sections totaling 54km (34 miles) of expressway on the southern bank of the St Lawrence with major bridges is also being offered via toll concession http://www.autoroute30.qc.ca/en/

Network tolling proposed

Government officials seem to be picking up on the more sweeping area toll proposals being advanced by the Montreal Economic Institute's Mathieu Laberge. The latest to get in the news is a paper "Bring back tolls on Quebec highways" which is for tolling existing free highways with traffic of more than 10,000 vehicles/day.

The most extensive Quebec-wide proposal would bring in $1.6b/year, three quarters from the Montreal metro area. Time of day variable rates would be used but the principal aim would be to raise money for better maintenance and reconstruction of area highways, and for some additional capacity. Quebec DOT has detailed a needed 5 years roadworks program of $12b that is unfunded.

Tolling, Laberge argues, is economically more efficient than paying for roads with taxes. And the use of tolls has public support, according to a survey done by the Institute. Tolls on main highways get 52% support and mileage based charges 11% for a tolls total of 63% to gasoline tax 18% and registration and license fees 12%. When highway speed electronic tolling is mentioned support for tolling is 78%.

see Montreal Economic Institute at http://www.iedm.org/main/main_en.php

TOLLROADSnews 2008-03-07