What is the Impact of Toll Roads on Land Use?

When the Road Price is Right: Land Use, Tolls, and Congestion Pricing(54 page pdf, Urban Land Institute, April 2013) Today we review a report which looks at the present state and growth of tolling in the USA and the potential that tolling, as a revenue source, has on land use and urban planning. Development of more efficient technology, such as electronic tolls, and the negative impacts of urban sprawl and downtown congestion are leading to more cities and highway authorities to choose tolling. This report examines a number of case studies that demonstrate different ways to implement tolling and how these affect land use.

   

Key Quotes:

 “Compared with other potential revenue sources, … tolling and related schemes to charge a tax or fee for every mile driven have much stronger potential to affect decision making about land use. Tolling that enables congestion-free travel increases the probability that the tolled road will have impacts on land use and development.”

“The revolution in tolling is spreading. First came the electronic toll systems that made it possible to travel on toll roads without stopping at toll booths. Then came the high occupancy/ toll (HOT) lanes that allowed drivers—for a price—to take advantage of the free-flowing traffic in the carpool lanes that line many of the freeways in congested metropolitan areas.”

 "Conclusions:

• The potential for tolling…to influence land use is real, but the magnitude of the impacts is likely to be modest.
• The most dramatic impacts—and opportunities—are likely to be located in the corridors surrounding tolled roads or highways with the option for congestion-free travel.
• The impacts on land use will vary greatly by metropolitan region and will be influenced by the transportation network—including mass transit services—land use patterns, local land use policies, and economic trends.
• Tolling … have the potential to interact with land use in ways that support growing market preferences for development in compact, mixed-use, walkable nodes….
• Because tolling that manages congestion is permanent and not priced according to the cost of the facility, policy discussions need to include the appropriate uses for “excess” revenue.”

“Tolling and charging per mile—transportation revenue mechanisms expanding or under serious consideration in the United States—have a much stronger link to land use than taxes on motor fuels and other revenue mechanisms such as sales taxes and income taxes.”

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