I never thought I'd see the day when an environmental group would advocate building more highway capacity to make life easier for rich people driving gas-guzzling SUVs and sports cars.
But it's for a good cause. Environmental Defense (www.environmentaldefense.org) announced last week that it had "joined with highway and public transportation industry groups to encourage wider use of public-private partnerships to spur investment in transportation, reduce congestion, and protect the environment, noting that environmental performance and community benefit agreements could be helpful in expanding public support for mobility improvements."
They're talking about congestion pricing, which in California has been limited to "Lexus Lanes" upon which people willing to fork over as much as $8.50 (www.91expresslanes.com/tollschedules.asp) for the privilege of passing the poor proles in their idling Scions. They do this in carpool lanes especially equipped with high-speed tolling equipment. It charges your FasTrak account. There are no booths.
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