Proposal would charge speeders higher tolls

Kansas Turnpike

? A state legislator has introduced a proposal to charge higher tolls on the Kansas Turnpike based on speed.

“I could vote for this before I could vote for an across-the-board increase in tolls,” Sen. David Haley, D-Kansas City, said Wednesday.

Haley’s measure, Senate Bill 205, would allow the Kansas Turnpike Authority to charge drivers extra if they speed on the road.

Speed could be determined by calculating the number of miles driven and comparing that with the time punched on the ticket a driver receives when getting on the turnpike.

The issue of turnpike tolls has come up in recent weeks amid the debate over how to fund $660 million in repairs to universities, including Kansas University.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius introduced a plan to increase tolls to raise funds for the repairs. That proposal has generally been rejected by the Legislature.

Haley said his plan would give motorists some control over how much they pay. He said he has thought about this for years after the turnpike raised tolls in 2004.

Haley said the plan would not interfere with law enforcement continuing to enforce the turnpike speed limit.

But the proposal is stuck in the legislative ditch.

Turnpike travelers and key legislators said they don’t like the idea.

“There has been extremely low interest in doing that,” said Senate Transportation Chairman Les Donovan, R-Wichita. “It doesn’t seem workable.”

People could speed and then stop for coffee and avoid paying the extra toll, Donovan said. “There are too many unanswered questions,” he said.

“I understand we need revenue in the state but I’m not sure this is the best way to do it,” turnpike user Kim Brown, of Lawrence, told KTKA-TV.

Lisa Callahan, a spokeswoman for the Turnpike Authority, said Haley has never talked to the authority about his proposal.

“It could be interpreted different ways,” she said of the bill.

Despite the negative feedback, Haley said he was undeterred.

He noted that he worked for eight years to get a bill passed making cruelty to animals a felony.

“It’s not the first time an innovative idea has been suppressed by leadership. They are in dire need of getting around the learning curve,” he said.