Updated: Doyle says he’s open to tolls on Wisconsin highways

Talk about it

Are Wisconsinites getting more open to charging tolls on some of our highways?

The answer is yes, according to the head of a state road-building group.

Craig Thompson of the Transportation Development Association says the people’s long-standing opposition to tolls is melting away because of the growing demand for money to maintain roads and improve mass transit.

And Thompson says technology like Illinois’ I-PASS system no longer forces drivers to “stop and throw money in a bucket.”

Wednesday, Gov. Jim Doyle told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel he’d be open to tolls, after vowing in 2003 it would never happen on his watch.

Now, though, Doyle says the funding from the gas tax, licenses and registration fees are not enough to meet all the needs.

Doyle refused to bring back the automatic annual increases in the gas tax in his new budget proposal.

And after raising the car registration fee two years ago, Doyle said he had to give that one a rest. That’s why he proposed a tax on oil company profits.

Update - Doyle issues statement

At approximately 2:30 p.m. on Thursday Doyle issued the following statement regarding his comments to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel on toll roads.

“I do not support toll roads. I did not include a toll road provision in my budget and am not working on plans to implement toll roads. In a discussion yesterday about long-term transportation policy, I suggested that in 5, 10, or 15 years from now, as the country moves toward more fuel efficient vehicles and electric and hybrid cars, that the state will receive less revenue from the gas tax. At that time, as a state, we will need to explore alternative funding sources for road projects, as will every other state that relies on gas tax revenues for transportation projects.”

Tags: wisconsin news, gov jim doyle, toll, roads