Fort Myers, Florida: A Town That Really Loves Its Toll Roads

You know a toll is doing its job when the local newspaper writes lyrically about the “debt of gratitude” the community owes the “roadway sugar-mommies and ‑daddies” who pay it.

That’s what happened earlier this month when the Fort Myers Florida Weekly, whose editorial motto is “in the know, in the now”, profiled a tolling system in Lee County that processes 20 million transactions per year.

“Last year, the county collected more than $44 million in tolls. After expenses and the bonds on the bridges were paid, the county found itself with a record-setting $17 million in excess revenue,” the paper notes. “These toll-paying commuters shoulder the burden not only of paying for the bridges themselves, but also for a long list of other traffic projects that might otherwise go unfunded.”

‘Surplus’ Tolls Are Revenue, Not Profit

The article is almost flawless in pointing out that toll revenue will always be needed, since a road is never really paid for. One local official talks about a bridge toll that was lifted once the bond was paid off. But Lee County Commissioner Frank Mann counters that “until some miracle source of revenue appears, I imagine we will continue to charge the tolls.”

“If you had a bridge that lasted and never needed maintenance, then you could get rid of a toll,” notes Assistant County Manager Pete Winton. In reality, “surplus tolls are a major revenue source for the county’s transportation and road infrastructure.”

He adds: “I wouldn’t call the surplus tolls ‘profit.’ It’s a revenue source.”

Clearly, people in Lee County appreciate the mobility and economic development that their roads offer local commuters and out-of-town beach-goers. And they know that greater mobility is made possible by toll roads.

By the Numbers

The Weekly lays out stark numbers that any local highway planner should be able to appreciate.

At 11¢ per gallon, gas taxes generated $16.6 million in revenue in 2015.

Local impact fees produced another $2.3 million that could only be spent in the districts where they were collected.

Growth increment funding, which dedicates property tax revenue to infrastructure improvements, won’t take effect until this year.

Tolls brought in $16,796,159 in “surplus” revenue after expenses were covered.

With existing projects to pay for and new projects on the books, it’s abundantly clear that Lee County needs the revenue, and is putting it to good use. “If you take that revenue source away, what do you replace it with?” Winton asked.

The Weekly replied: “The answer, of course, is something that politicians dare not utter: more taxes.”

Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise relies extensively on all-electronic tolling. See FTE and other global tolling leaders at IBTTA’s 2016 Summit on AET, Managed Lanes and Interoperability, July 24-26, 2016 in Boston.

Photo via The Beaches of Fort Meyers and Sanibel.