There have been plenty of toll bridges in B.C.
Editor: There is a lot of hip hop being bandied about on tolls. It’s a good question.
The Pattullo Bridge, Lions Gate Bridge, Iron Workers Memorial Bridge, Oak Street Bridge, George Massey Tunnel and the Coquihalla Highway all had tolls at one time.
There are 10 bridges in Ontario with tolls, ranging from $4.75 to $2.50 per trip.
The Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island has a toll — $44.25 for a car, $17.75 for a motorcycle, and $8.25 for a bike, but we cannot use this as a comparison because of the length of the crossing. It also connects two provinces.
The tolls on that bridge are worth thinking about, if ever a bridge was built between the mainland and Vancouver Island.
Nova Scotia has two toll bridges at $1 each, and Quebec has one toll bridge at $2.40.
It has been suggested that the Sea to Sky Highway should be tolled, and yet the most expensive highway construction project ever in B.C., the Vancouver Island inland highway, built by the NDP government of Glen Clark, has never had a toll.
This project was a typical NDP project, of never staying according to budget.
There is a lot of number crunching to do, but funds have to come from somewhere and increasing taxes in return for no toll on the bridge is bad economics.
Joe Sawchuk,
Duncan
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