Poll: Two-thirds of drivers say they’d avoid I-90 tolls

It seems likely that tolls will eventually come to the Interstate 90 bridge across Lake Washington. And a new poll says two out of three drivers would change their route to avoid paying them.

The poll by Seattle-based PEMCO Insurance asked drivers how they’d change their route to get between Seattle and Bellevue via Mercer Island.

More than half of drivers polled (58 percent) said they would cross I-90 less frequently if a toll is put into place. About one-third (37 percent) said they would drive north or south around Lake Washington instead of paying the toll.

The Washington Department of Transportation reports an average 133,000 vehicles cross I-90 everyday, meaning about 77,000 cars could be looking for an alternative route if everyone who said they would avoid I-90 tolls actually did so.

State transportation officials meeting earlier this week said an environmental impact study on tolling continues and WSDOT will bring its findings to the state Legislature in 2015. Any I-90 tolls would require federal approval as well.

But take the poll with a grain of salt. PEMCO says similar predictions on neighboring SR 520 proved to be a lot more talk than action. Almost two-thirds of drivers in a 2010 PEMCO poll said they would use the 520 bridge less often. But a 2012 PEMCO poll, conducted about one year into tolling, found that nearly half of respondents (46 percent) reported that they use 520 just as often as they did before the toll.

“Many drivers are quick to say they’ll find a way to avoid paying tolls, but our research shows that when it comes down to it, convenience and reduced travel time may ultimately win out,” said PEMCO spokesman Jon Osterberg.