L.A. Times opinion piece says the way to fix traffic is with lots of toll roads

Herbie Huff, a researcher and lecturer at the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies, wrote an opinion piece for the L.A.Times titled "There's only one way to fix L.A.'s traffic, and it isn't Elon Musk's tunnels. We need tolls — lots of them."

Yes, tolls will fix our streets and freeways!

Here's what Huff has to say:

"Los Angeles is fed up with its traffic. Despite billions spent in herculean efforts to expand our roads, our freeways are as clogged as ever. We spent $1.6 billion to widen the 405 Freeway in 2014, and yet commute times through the Sepulveda Pass are the same. Perhaps even more frustrating, we’re spending billions more to get people out of their cars and onto Metro — and not only is our traffic problem unmoved, transit ridership is declining.

Things have gotten so bad that billionaire futurist Elon Musk recently promised to “just start digging” tunnels underneath L.A. With enough layers of tunnels, says Musk, any amount of cars could be provided for.

With all due respect to Mr. Musk, this plan encapsulates everything that’s wrong with how we think about traffic. Instead of building our way out of the problem, there is a proven solution to fighting traffic, one that’s much easier, more effective and less costly than our current approach. It’s putting a price on the use of our roads.

Nobody likes paying for anything they are used to getting for free, and freeway tolls are no exception. But why are we willing to pay for electricity, gasoline or air travel, but not for roads?..."

Continue Reading at the L.A.Times.

Toll roads!  Seriously?!  Read Herbie Huff's full piece at the L.A. Times, it's hilarious.