Whether or not Dingwall acted appropriately is a political question, one that can only be resolved at the next election. But by doing so, he has taken Canada one step closer toward a user-pay system for the nation’s primary transportation link. This week, Ontario’s new transportation minister, Al Palladini, voiced his support for more toll roads. It is this policy that should be examined closely.
Of course, those affected by the Nova Scotia decision — the residents who will end up paying to bypass a dangerous section known as Death Valley — are upset. But other Canadians already pay for daily access to decent highways, ferries and bridges, and they have learned to live with it.
Consider the Coquihalla Highway in British Columbia, a 200-km stretch of four-lane blacktop that makes the trip between the lower mainland and Kamloops in the interior of the province, and from there the rest of the country. Anyone who has driven the Coquihalla through one of the region’s many winter snowstorms can attest to the improvement over the torturous Trans-Canada route through Cache Creek.
Where the Trans-Canada was dangerous and prone to delays, the Coquihalla is reliable, safe and well worth the $10 toll. Even those who have led the political battle against the Nova Scotia decision, such as Reform MP Randy White, whose riding in the Fraser Valley has benefited greatly from the Coquihalla, would have a hard time criticizing it.
Without the guarantee of toll income, the Coquihalla would not have been built, at least not as quickly. The same applies in Nova Scotia. Without tolls, residents are looking at seven to 10 more years of unnecessary accidents. With tolls, only two. Then there’s all the ferry services in Canada. Is anyone suggesting that the west coast ferries, or those between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, should be free? Most island-dwellers recognize their quality of life comes at a price.
In the U.S., where toll booths are common, the experience has been a positive one.
Having worked and lived in Massachusetts for the better part of two years, I can personally vouch for the logic of tolls. The main east-west artery in Boston, the Massachusetts Turnpike, has made getting around by car easier, safer and faster. Yes, it costs a dollar or two. But it has encouraged the growth of Boston’s superb mass transit network and raised millions from those who still insist on driving, most of whom can easily afford it.
Perhaps the most convincing argument in favor of making the Trans-Canada a user-pay network is the environmental consequence of not doing so. Cars are responsible for half the carbon emissions in the industrialized world and the evidence linking atmospheric carbon build-up to global climate change is stronger now than ever. Only by switching to more efficient modes of transportation can we hope to reverse the trend.
North Americans’ love affair with the automobile is a powerful force that cannot be summarily discounted, but my guess is common sense will kick in when the cost of driving long distances goes through the roof. Once that happens, light rail and other mass transit schemes will suddenly make a whole lot of economic sense. Not just for Trans-Canada travel, but for our cities, where real communities may again flourish thanks to a revival of walking and cycling patterns, and even for secondary roads, such as the Fleur de Lis Trail in Cape Breton.
Perhaps the mistake in Nova Scotia was to single out the Death Valley stretch of Highway 104 instead of turn both routes into toll highways. At least, that would spread the pain around.