Toll Roads / Mileage Tax

[husky]

Should those workers who live in Edmonton and work in the Industrial Heartland be taxed extra by Strathcona/Sturgeon County? Should everyone who travels to the airport or works in Nisku be taxed more by Leduc County? Should those who work in Acheson be taxed more by Parkland County? Should southsiders be tolled/taxed more because they use the High Level/Walterdale Bridges more than those on the north side?

Edmonton is a regional hub for north and central Alberta, like it or not. Tit for tat tolls and taxes for the sake of owning the suburbanites would be a fools errand and incredibly difficult to roll out. What would you even toll? The stigma attached to such a program would likely cause more damage than the revenue gained. These are people that work and support business in the City.

Don't get me wrong, the Province should absolutely increase per capita infrastructure funding to account for this, especially with the rapidly increasing population.

 

[kcantor]

I find the arguments put forward here for toll road or a similar tax somewhat humorous.

Here we have the same people arguing that people who live outside the city should somehow “pay more” that argue that residents in the city don’t pay their own way.

If the latter is true, wouldn’t we be better off encouraging more people to live outside the city than in, particularly when those businesses they visit to work or shop pay substantially more in commercial taxes than residents do.