Here’s how road tolls might work for Gardiner

I don’t mind people saying something — anything — as long as they get their facts straight. As the late shock-comedian Lennie Bruce used to say: “One of the hardest things in life is having to listen to people who don’t know what they’re talking about.”

So the subject today is road tolls in the GTA. There are people who think we need them and others who say we don’t. The twain likely won’t meet on this one — although there might be a way.

But when there is debate, the evidence — on either side — must stand up to scrutiny.

The other day, Canada’s original national newspaper published an editorial in support of tolls headlined, “Why are we giving drivers a free ride?”

If I was so inclined, I could take that missive apart line-by-line, starting with the Globe and Mail’s assumption that anything having to do with vehicle ownership is free. But I don’t have the space, or the time.

But the second sentence got my attention. After wondering what Canadians have against toll roads, the editorial said: “There are many tolled highways in the United States, including quite a few of the Interstates; fully 26 states have them, often known as “turnpikes.”

Right off the bat, that statement is misleading because, when the majority of those roads were constructed, they were built as toll roads, much like Ontario’s Hwy 407. And U.S. motorists were accepting of the tolls, as they have been here. They understood completely what was coming.

Now, there are plenty of instances throughout the United States where tolls were applied to existing roads or highways to pay for improvements, such as new bridges or tunnels. While it’s true that a few then became permanent toll roads, most saw the tolls removed after the projects were finished.

We’ve had instances in Ontario like that. When the Burlington and St. Catharines skyway bridges were built, they were tolled until they were paid for and then the tolls were removed. Again, motorists were accepting because the deal was a quid pro quo.

Which is the way the tolls-or-no-tolls discussion should be handled in Toronto. Right now, it’s an all-or-nothing argument; you’re either for ’em, or against ’em.

At present, the focus is on the eastern Gardiner near the Don Valley Parkway. It has to be rebuilt. Years of neglect have made that a certainty (there was an eight-year period in the not-too-distant past when there was virtually no maintenance work done on the Gardiner at all).

Although there would initially be squawking, I believe the majority of motorists would be accepting of temporary tolls on the Expressway and the DVP to pay for that construction — if, and only if, there was a guarantee that all of the money collected would go specifically to that project and that the tolls would be removed once the work gets finished.

Unfortunately, in recent years, governments around here have said things that have not been 100 per cent true. Or they have said one thing and done another. Either way, what I’m suggesting would be a hard sell.

But rather than slapping neverending tolls on two roadways that motorists have paid for many times over through gas taxes, licences, sales taxes and so-on, only to see the money collected go into “general revenues” and disappear down a dark hole, designated tolling should at least be considered.

I would never say that road tolls could someday prove to be popular. But designated funding might work and it’s time somebody in charge suggested giving it a try.

Just don’t start the pitch by saying motorists are getting a free ride. Nothing could be further from the truth. nmcdonald@thestar.ca