After hearing about the expected rises in tolls across Maryland, I couldn't help but think that Baltimore was hard hit while other areas of the state remained relatively unscathed. I'm talking, among other places, about D.C.'s northwestern suburbs. Montgomery and Howard counties are two of the richest counties in the U.S. and yet, somehow, there are no planned toll increases for them; in fact, before the construction of the Intercounty Connector, they had no toll roads at all. These areas of Maryland are the places where the residents and commuters can most easily afford increased tolls. And, as for Montgomery County, it is also the one of the few places in Maryland where people actually can choose how to get to work.
It seems as though Maryland has deemed it acceptable to not only foster but financially support a lifestyle of suburban living for the upper and upper middle class outside of Washington D.C. Indeed, if you drove from Silver Spring to Bethesda on 495, you would encounter no tolls. But to drive a similar distance from Highlandtown to Port Covington — unless you went the long way, through Baltimore City on surface streets — you would have to cough up $2, soon $4, and eventually $6 worth of tolls, each way.
Jake Stern is a Baltimore resident. – Ed.
If tolls are such a burden for Baltimoreans, they should live on our side of the Bay. – Ed.
We don't need anymore Baltimorons ;-) In all reality, though, we could use some fresh insight and ideas to stimulate our economy.
ReplyDeleteMontgomery has their own toll system. Red light and speed cameras everywhere and they cash in big time. Plus it would be unfair to their exploding illegal immigrant population to charge tolls.
ReplyDeleteIf we taxed taxes in Maryland we'd have a never ending source of revenue! Haha
ReplyDeleteThe guy's got a point, though. The wealthy suburbanites don't have to pay this stuff. How's that Smart Growth workin' for ya now?
ReplyDeleteThe thing is, most of the tolls in Baltimore are avoidable. The bridge(for the most part) isn't. I live in DC, and I'm certainly not going around the long way to save a couple bucks.
ReplyDelete842-Oh, we on the western shore certainly pay our dues. Compare property taxes. I paid 700$ on the shore annually before we moved to the dc suburbs in 2005. Now, I pay 2800$ annually in property taxes. I'm not complaining, I'm just saying, we all get overtaxed by the spend/tax ways of the seemingly always democratically controlled Annapolis.