Coming soon to Colorado?
The Denver Post has a concerning take on the new tolling on Highway 36 between Boulder and Denver: like it? – there’s more where that came from. In a weekend editorial, the Post remarked that unless we see an increase in the gas tax, or a broader acceptance of transportation bonds among Coloradans, some sort of toll road solution is going to be necessary to maintain our infrastructure.
Gone are the days when drivers would toss spare change into a basket and wait for a mechanical arm to raise. Today’s tolls are not chump change. Most require sensors in your cars linked to your credit card, so vehicle owners can automatically pay their bills each month.
If someone is taking the Lexus Lane between Denver and Boulder every day for work, that comes out to about $300/month, or $3600/year. In other words, more than the double the median property tax on a typical Colorado home, and more than the personal savings rate for a family with the state’s median household income.
So, in addition to the eye popping property tax increases going out across the metro area, ballooning Connect for Health Colorado fees, and the steadfast insistence on expensive renewable energy, we can look forward to everyone getting electronic toll readers for their cars so we can comply with the patchwork of toll roads that will be popping up across the state.
And not a peep out of the Democratic Party that laughably claims that to be fighting for the middle class, yet continues to shove one fee on top of another tax. There’s not going to be a middle class if they keep up with these antics.