Turnpike lease would be bad for Toledo

Some families that experience a financial shortfall turn to selling personal assets. Peddling an heirloom may generate quick cash, but it also can cause later regret.

Gov. John Kasich proposes the government equivalent with his plan to lease the Ohio Turnpike. The influx of cash a lease could provide state coffers might appear tempting.

But a long-term lease can create unintended consequences. And like a family heirloom, once this public asset is gone, it will be impossible to recover.

Indiana leased its toll road for 75 years, but its private investors anticipate recovering their money within 20 years. Where will the revenue from increased tolls on the road go then? Not to the public.

Since the toll road went private and tolls went up, drivers have opted for alternate routes. Projections called for 13 million trucks to use the road last year, so it could break even on costs. The actual number was barely half that.

If a leased Ohio Turnpike suffered a similar fate, businesses near the South Toledo interchange would lose revenue. Wear and tear on non-toll streets would increase, placing even greater demand on our limited local dollars for road repair.

Last year, 1.7 million cars and trucks got off the turnpike in South Toledo, the Ohio Turnpike Commission reports, generating $7.7 million in revenue. The three other turnpike exits in greater Toledo area accommodated 4.3 million vehicles and generated $38.6 million. Can our state and region sacrifice that revenue so easily?

When the turnpike opened in 1956, it had 17 interchanges. Today, it has more than 30. The Maumee turnpike exit was built to accommodate demand created by UPS. Another exit was created to give Federal Express direct access to the turnpike.

A long-term lease may not allow for adequate public input into future needs. Should economic development in one part of the metropolitan area make a new turnpike exit necessary, planning for and funding it could be difficult.

All northern Ohio citizens are stakeholders in the turnpike. Putting the turnpike in the hands of a private company would make public accountability much more difficult.

Turnpike revenue benefits our region through upkeep and improvements. By contrast, revenue from a lease will go to the state, and revenue generated by a private operator will go to investors. So those who use the turnpike most often could end up padding the pockets of private investors, and money generated by a lease may never benefit Toledo.

The four turnpike interchanges in metro Toledo employ 63 full-time employees and 40 part-time workers. Turnpike revenues, not the state budget, pay their salaries.

Even if a private company were to retain these employees, they likely would be paid less. That loss of income will be felt locally.

Northern Ohio is the only part of the state with a pay-to-use ground transportation system. A turnpike lease might create a short-term windfall for the state, but Toledo and northwest Ohio would pay for it for decades to come.

Governor Kasich asserts that we must abandon our "regional" mentality and look to the good of the entire state. Where was he when Columbus ignored the needs of this region for so long?

The Ohio Turnpike is our family heirloom. We need to keep it.

D. Michael Collins is a member of Toledo City Council.