Travel is adding a lot of challenge to my schedule, today especially. The day's driving took much longer than planned. Expect a more complete blog posting later this week.
In the mean time, since when did the stretch of Interstate 95 across Maryland become a toll road? I asked a booth attendent that question and he looked at me as though I had asked since when have we humans begun using calandars.
He laughed, but it wasn't funny to me. And no, it's not that I'm a cheapskate. It's a constitutional issue.
If every road was a toll road then only those of some significant means could afford to use them. And that in and of itself is not a constitutional problem since public money isn't generally used to maintain toll roads. They're usually private entities approved by governments with no constitutional obligation to make their roads accessible to the general public.
But if the toll road is an Interstate Highway that's supposed to be accessible to the general car-driving public ... What does making it a toll road do to the purpose of that road, and what does that say about public money being spent to provide amenities to an exclusive class?
Fortunately I'm currently in that exclusive class of folks that can afford $12.00 in tolls, but what about the people who live in remote rural areas where they found a low cost of living and an income that fits it? They might be able to afford the fuel to travel across Maryland but maybe not the tolls as well. Interstate 95 is supposed to be there for them just as much as it is for me.
The existence of the Interstate 95 tolls is not a laughing matter. It's just one more reminder to me that my America may be losing its way.
In the mean time, since when did the stretch of Interstate 95 across Maryland become a toll road? I asked a booth attendent that question and he looked at me as though I had asked since when have we humans begun using calandars.
He laughed, but it wasn't funny to me. And no, it's not that I'm a cheapskate. It's a constitutional issue.
If every road was a toll road then only those of some significant means could afford to use them. And that in and of itself is not a constitutional problem since public money isn't generally used to maintain toll roads. They're usually private entities approved by governments with no constitutional obligation to make their roads accessible to the general public.
But if the toll road is an Interstate Highway that's supposed to be accessible to the general car-driving public ... What does making it a toll road do to the purpose of that road, and what does that say about public money being spent to provide amenities to an exclusive class?
Fortunately I'm currently in that exclusive class of folks that can afford $12.00 in tolls, but what about the people who live in remote rural areas where they found a low cost of living and an income that fits it? They might be able to afford the fuel to travel across Maryland but maybe not the tolls as well. Interstate 95 is supposed to be there for them just as much as it is for me.
The existence of the Interstate 95 tolls is not a laughing matter. It's just one more reminder to me that my America may be losing its way.
No comments:
Post a Comment