Exacting a Toll on Public Sufferance

Regarding the plan to extract a toll from motorists using the Newport Coast Road between MacArthur Boulevard and the Coast Highway, why stop there? How about a toll for everyone who doesn’t use the road? It might require a number of toll booths because willful motorists may cut through back streets or worse to avoid doing their share to make the transportation corridor profitable. A better idea might be to just install a toll booth in every garage.

As for Newport Beach Public Works Director Benjamin Nolan’s theory that people are in a stir because they weren’t “fully involved in the project,” I say, “Now’s the time!” Let’s hear it from the motorists who happily endorse the idea of reversing direction and turning south on the new extension of Ford Road in order to go north on MacArthur. They might even pay a voluntary 10-cent toll to show their appreciation for the ingenuous hypocrisy of our officials.

BARBARA VAN HOVEN

Corona del Mar