Uniform payment not based on usage

Islanders and mainlanders unite [“Activists revive group to fight I-90 bridge tolls,” NWTuesday, Feb. 12]! Mercer, Vashon and Bainbridge islands are all served by parts of the highway system — those parts just happen to be bridges and ferries that transport over water, rather than highways that help people move over land. Despite this shared definition as equal parts of our “highway” system, they are taxed differently.

All ferries and a couple of bridges in Washington state charge the users directly with tolls. None of the highways do. It seems only fair that either all highway-system users pay directly with tolls when they use any of these three public resources, or all citizens of the state cover the complete costs for a system that is available for all — whether they use it or not.

--Charles Blick, Vashon