Seattle drawbridges: Pleasure-craft toll

Re: “Seattle’s drawbridges need millions of dollars in maintenance” [March 17, Local News]:

I write to encourage the implementation of a tolling system for bridge openings along the Lake Washington Ship Canal and other city bridges that require opening for pleasure craft.

Increasingly, tunnel- and stationary-bridge tolls are common in this area. Why not charge a toll to the pleasure-craft operators in the same way? Using the same technology that exists on car windshields will make toll collection straightforward. This approach would be an easy, user-specific way to collect millions of dollars over time for much needed maintenance.

Peter Berner-Hays, Seattle