WSDOT says opinions are changing over I-405 toll lanes
Aug 15, 2017, 5:42 AM | Updated: 8:56 am
The sentiment toward I-405’s express toll lanes seems to be changing, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.
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The two years since the implementation of express toll lanes on I-405 have been filled with controversy, and plenty of toll revenue. Some drivers complain that they don’t work and cause congestion. Lawmakers have even made it their mission to take the toll lanes down. But WSDOT says drivers are changing their minds.
“(I use them) pretty much every time I’m going north on 405,” said Jonah who uses the express toll lanes often. Jonah was among a range of drivers recently interviewed at a Bellevue Good To Go! center.
“I live in Bellevue so time is the only thing I’m ever going to get back,” he said. “I’ll pay a couple bucks to cut my commute in half.”
But not everyone was as supportive as Jonah.
“Conceptually, I think it’s a good idea; I see a lot of people who go around it,” said another man. “As far as relieving congestion, I don’t really notice it.”
In short, about one-third of drivers do not believe tolls are a good way to manage congestion — meaning two-thirds of drivers that use them believe the tolls work just fine. WSDOT says, however, that most people have a positive opinion about the express toll lanes. When surveyed in June, 60 percent of people said they like having the option for express toll lanes for a faster trip. WSDOT notes that when they introduced the toll lanes in 2015, 87 percent of surveyed drivers said they did not support them.
A similar change in perspective happened when WSDOT asked if the express toll lanes reduced congestion for some trips in the regular lanes — 64 percent of respondents said they agreed that they do. Back in 2016, 77 percent said the opposite.
WSDOT surveyed I-405 drivers about their views on the express toll lanes in June 2017. (WSDOT)
WSDOT did get responses stating that all lanes should be free, or that more general purpose lanes should be built. WSDOT says that the change in perspectives was to be expected because attitudes toward the SR 167 HOT lanes also changed to more positive over time.
