“Inside Wisconsin,” the state technology council’s blog, features a post by president Tom Still, who believes Wisconsinites are both “miffed” about having to pay tolls to drive south into Illinois and “jealous that other states have ways to make visitors pay for highway maintenance.” That conflict of opinion, he writes, may surface in the debate over the WisDOT report that concludes toll collection could help the state close its highway funding deficit. In his conclusion, Still observes, “Toll roads have existed since ancient times and in America since the 1790s, a history that suggests travelers are conditioned to view them as user fees versus a tax. As the debate over how to pay for Wisconsin’s transportation needs intensifies, that perception may prove to be a distinction that matters to policymakers.”
The Journal Times samples Racine County residents’ reactions to the possibility of Wisconsin joining the list of states with toll roads.