Edmonton is opening the discussion to the possibility of charging a toll for drivers to use the roads.
Should there be toll roads in Edmonton? What would be the fee?
The city has published a white paper meant to look at different ways to bring in revenue to ensure Edmonton’s financial sustainability over the next ten years.
One of the topics is user fees and whether the city should be charging for certain services, such as roads.
“The value of all these financial white papers is really to have conversations about various things that we should be exploring or at least even thinking about,” said Ward 1 City Councillor Andrew Knack.
In Canada, there are 20 tolled roadways and bridges, two in British Columbia, three in Nova Scotia, 12 in Ontario, one in Prince Edward Island, and two in Quebec, according to the white paper.
However in Alberta, the traffic act doesn’t allow for a municipality to charge a fee on roadways or bridges.
Knack doubts people in Edmonton are going to see toll roads anytime in the near future.
“I don’t think you’re ever going to see that (toll roads),” said Knack. “First it’s going to have to come from a provincial change.”
“It’s a conversation starter, to make people think about not just Edmonton tomorrow, but Edmonton in 40 years.”
The discussion goes to a public hearing April 12.
Questions the city wants residents to consider regarding user fees:
- Are targeted subsidies based on age justified if the intention is to address income disparity?
- Is full tax-supported subsidization justified if a program or service derives clear private benefits?
- Is levying user fees on transit users but not roadway users justified if both derive clear private benefits?
- Should the City consider charging different user fee rates for different levels of service?
With files from CTV's Breanna Karstens-Smith
