Florida

[roadman65]

The one's at Boggy Creek gets used as a mainline.  I was surprised how many people come to the real mainline plaza crying about the lack of attendants at the last toll plaza.  As CFX moved the tolls to the ramps but did not take their hired collectors with em.   Most tourists nowadays think that everybody takes cards and leaves home without even a dime in their pockets and of course I am the toll collector at that mainline, and see all the looks at me cause FDOT won't accept credit or debit cards.  Of course they will learn their lesson when they get their bill from the rental company as the service fees that some car rentals charge is astronomical.  Anyway, that whole ignorance thing is another story.

Yes the airport plaza was closed January 31, 2016 at 10:00 PM.  So you pay the same going from the Airport to I Drive or any place in between.  Just you pay once and if you get off at Conway or Sandlake you now pay at an automated ramp instead of the mainline.   Heck several years earlier it was worse.  You had three mainline plazas near the airport.  There used to be one at Narcoosee Road which is just east of the airport so you would stop at MP 6 (the Beeline West, the one I work at), the Airport just west of the Airport/436 exit, and then just east of Exit 13. 

Instead of charging an extra quarter at the BLW in 1982 when the airport plaza opened as a result of the freeway upgrade from Exits 8 to 11, they put a third plaza in between two already close together tolls.  Plus those who drove FL 528 for free for ages now got slapped with a 25 cents toll in addition.   My dad as he drove it could not believe that the State of Florida would allow three plazas so close that it would prohibit comfortable highway speeds.  He did not mind the levees, but the constant stopping.  The Narcoosee toll eventually became the 417 mainline as the then OOCEA thought those leaving the airport should be able to access FL 417 for free back in 1989.

Now there are three mainline plazas altogether.  One two and a quarter, and two others that are a buck.  So the overall long distance trip from I-4 to Port Canveral is $3.25 that used to be collected 4 times is now 3.  Previously it was 3 up until the early naughts when the Dallas mainline was not there and it was BLW, Airport, and 417.

I believe the next step is all cashless as the latest Florida road map published states that is long term goal.  The plaza I work will be the last, according to my manager it should be gone by 2021. 

[Jordanes]

roadman65, what would you do if someone pulled up to your toll plaza and said "all I have is pennies to pay the toll?"

Serious question...

[DeaconG]

^^^ Pulls out his M-16 with grenade launcher and says "say hello to my little friend!" 

[roadman65]

roadman65, what would you do if someone pulled up to your toll plaza and said "all I have is pennies to pay the toll?"

Serious question...

Count them like before.

[formulanone]

roadman65, what would you do if someone pulled up to your toll plaza and said "all I have is pennies to pay the toll?"

Serious question...

Count them like before.

If it's a $10 barrier toll, you should be able to place Jersey Barriers in front of and behind the vehicle in question while you count.

[J N Winkler]

I believe the next step is all cashless as the latest Florida road map published states that is long term goal.  The plaza I work will be the last, according to my manager it should be gone by 2021.

I picked up a copy of the same map when I stopped at the I-10 welcome center just west of Pensacola about a month ago.  I believe it had already been mentioned at least once on this forum, but I was still a little taken aback to see in person that Florida is now using vending machines to sell transponders at welcome centers--I had my choice of a SunPass Mini (cheap, sticks to the windshield) or a hard-case SunPass (uses suction cups, transferable from vehicle to vehicle).  Smartphone activation was also being heavily promoted.

The tourist map does not actually have a complete list of Florida toll facilities.  Besides the infrastructure maintained by Florida DOT (Turnpike Enterprise) and by the regional toll authorities (CFX, MDX, THEA and so on), there are some small county-level toll agencies that are trying to go cashless.  If my plan to visit Gulf Islands National Seashore had not been defeated by the heavy rainstorm that pounded the Deep South that week, my routing for that trip would have been influenced by a desire to cross the CR 399 Bob Sikes Bridge in the toll-free (northbound) direction.  It is owned by the Escambia County toll authority, which set off a controversy about a year ago when it tried to go from not accepting SunPass at the bridge to not accepting cash.

[emory]

During my last trip down south I was on Monroe County Road 905A and when it was too late I realized its toll booth was cash only but I was short 50 cents, so I pulled over and went to a nearby restaurant to see if I could get change. Unfortunately they were closed for maintenance, so the booth operator was nice enough to let me pass anyway.

[Max Rockatansky]

During my last trip down south I was on Monroe County Road 905A and when it was too late I realized its toll booth was cash only but I was short 50 cents, so I pulled over and went to a nearby restaurant to see if I could get change. Unfortunately they were closed for maintenance, so the booth operator was nice enough to let me pass anyway.

Usually they let you just to go by since so many people do that.  Sometimes Card Sound Road is a nice quiet detour as opposed to taking the 18 Mile Stretch on US 1 with all those people rushing get to the Keys or the Mainland.  I'm going to check it out myself here in a couple weeks since I hear it was recently repaved.

[roadman65]

The problem is if you have a rental car and you do not have money.  The rental cars charge their own fee for contracting a third party mediator to handle unpaid tolls between them and you.  Even one user on here got socked for 23 bucks on the Golden Gate Bridge as that is completely cash less charging normal users 7 bucks for autos.  Meanwhile the rental company tacked on the 16 dollars for the handling of it so they got more than CalTRANS got for crossing an important landmark that millions flock to each year to see.

I as a toll collector I do not mind letting people go or handing out the pay later slips, but it annoys me when they say "I did not know its a toll road" when FDOT signs all toll roads (except the Turnpike) with the TOLL banner on the route shields.  As a motorist it is our job to read road signs, and if we are strangers to the area we would be reading them more to orient ourselves better.

I also hate when people actually ask me how to differentiate a ramp exit toll from a mainline toll.  Some toll road users exit WB FL 528 at Exit 8 for SR 482 and pay the ramp toll and re-enter the toll road as that exit has an easy return from a frontage road.   Some say Exit 8 signs are confusing to tourists, but they are not and in fact straight forward.  But, to many they find it difficult and it makes it awkward for me to answer that question without creating a wildfire between us.

[realjd]

The problem is if you have a rental car and you do not have money.  The rental cars charge their own fee for contracting a third party mediator to handle unpaid tolls between them and you.  Even one user on here got socked for 23 bucks on the Golden Gate Bridge as that is completely cash less charging normal users 7 bucks for autos.  Meanwhile the rental company tacked on the 16 dollars for the handling of it so they got more than CalTRANS got for crossing an important landmark that millions flock to each year to see.

I as a toll collector I do not mind letting people go or handing out the pay later slips, but it annoys me when they say "I did not know its a toll road" when FDOT signs all toll roads (except the Turnpike) with the TOLL banner on the route shields.  As a motorist it is our job to read road signs, and if we are strangers to the area we would be reading them more to orient ourselves better.

I also hate when people actually ask me how to differentiate a ramp exit toll from a mainline toll.  Some toll road users exit WB FL 528 at Exit 8 for SR 482 and pay the ramp toll and re-enter the toll road as that exit has an easy return from a frontage road.   Some say Exit 8 signs are confusing to tourists, but they are not and in fact straight forward.  But, to many they find it difficult and it makes it awkward for me to answer that question without creating a wildfire between us.

FDOT/FTE is signing the Turnpike with TOLL banners now. Any new signs that go up have a big yellow "TOLL" banner on top, above the regular green Turnpike sign.

[Avalanchez71]

They have been collecting toll on the Florida's Turnpike since the 50s and now they need to put a TOLL banner up?

[jwolfer]

The problem is if you have a rental car and you do not have money.  The rental cars charge their own fee for contracting a third party mediator to handle unpaid tolls between them and you.  Even one user on here got socked for 23 bucks on the Golden Gate Bridge as that is completely cash less charging normal users 7 bucks for autos.  Meanwhile the rental company tacked on the 16 dollars for the handling of it so they got more than CalTRANS got for crossing an important landmark that millions flock to each year to see.

I as a toll collector I do not mind letting people go or handing out the pay later slips, but it annoys me when they say "I did not know its a toll road" when FDOT signs all toll roads (except the Turnpike) with the TOLL banner on the route shields.  As a motorist it is our job to read road signs, and if we are strangers to the area we would be reading them more to orient ourselves better.

I also hate when people actually ask me how to differentiate a ramp exit toll from a mainline toll.  Some toll road users exit WB FL 528 at Exit 8 for SR 482 and pay the ramp toll and re-enter the toll road as that exit has an easy return from a frontage road.   Some say Exit 8 signs are confusing to tourists, but they are not and in fact straight forward.  But, to many they find it difficult and it makes it awkward for me to answer that question without creating a wildfire between us.

FDOT/FTE is signing the Turnpike with TOLL banners now. Any new signs that go up have a big yellow "TOLL" banner on top, above the regular green Turnpike sign.

Why not TOLL 91 signs? All the other toll roads do... Also extend 91over HEFT and jyst get rid of 821 so miles match

LGMS428

[Brian556]

Quote from Roadman65:

"I did not know its a toll road" when FDOT signs all toll roads (except the Turnpike) with the TOLL banner on the route shields.

They are starting to add them:

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.6432887,-81.8109528,3a,37.5y,129.44h,84.33t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sd4t_hkfCKT3sHIJDHqyPWQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.5515486,-81.5499904,3a,18.1y,281.76h,93.07t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1skFTJe8rqETthSYD4aCadzA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DkFTJe8rqETthSYD4aCadzA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D290.39737%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

[formulanone]

FDOT/FTE is signing the Turnpike with TOLL banners now. Any new signs that go up have a big yellow "TOLL" banner on top, above the regular green Turnpike sign.

Why not TOLL 91 signs? All the other toll roads do... Also extend 91over HEFT and jyst get rid of 821 so miles match

There's the four-mile spur of the original Turnpike (exits 4X though 0X) which would be left out.

FL 91 and "FL 891", so the grid fits.

[Henry]

Talk about redundancy! I've always taken turnpikes to be toll roads, so why would it need a banner to note it as such?

[hotdogPi]

Talk about redundancy! I've always taken turnpikes to be toll roads, so why would it need a banner to note it as such?

There are several roads with "turnpike" in their name that are not toll roads, like Chester Turnpike in New Hampshire and Old Union Turnpike in Massachusetts (although both of these are surface roads). There is even a road called "Toll Rd" in Salisbury, MA that is free!

Of those that are toll roads, some have free segments, like the Everett Turnpike in New Hampshire.

[roadman65]

As a TOLL collector the banners could be everywhere like they are leaving the airport in Orlando for both FL 417 and 528, yet many people still get on both roads with no cash and when they show up at the booths they use the "Oh I did not know this was a toll road, and being I never carry cash I can't pay this toll."   Even with the LAST EXIT BEFORE TOLL ROAD at Exit 4 going EB on the overhead sign they still drive under it, not reading it and show up dumbfounded at the plaza not able to pay the toll.  One guy said to me that "Oh I did not know it was a toll road" but paid anyway and said he was lucky to have the nine quarters he needed to pay it, but I told him about the sign and found it hard to believe that he missed it.  He called me a "Rude Fuck" and pulled into the plaza and waited ten minutes to see my supervisor to try to report me.  I was far from rude and I was very polite but he must of been bipolar as he talked calmly as I have used far harsh tones on people I kid with.  In fact I have had people really pissed at me who never pulled off to the plaza administration building to report me before and  to some I was indeed rude to before, but this guy was not mad when he made his statement.  The fact I was in disbelief had him conclude I was rude.

Anyway, if motorists cannot read EXIT ONLY on overhead signs where lanes default to ramps, as many do that last minute lane change at the diverge they sure as hell ain't going to read a black on yellow toll banner.  Heck they cannot even read the overhead signs for Disney World which directs them onto FL 417 from the terminals as they still need to plug that into their GPS or else they will not find it.

[emory]

FDOT/FTE is signing the Turnpike with TOLL banners now. Any new signs that go up have a big yellow "TOLL" banner on top, above the regular green Turnpike sign.

Why not TOLL 91 signs? All the other toll roads do... Also extend 91over HEFT and jyst get rid of 821 so miles match

There's the four-mile spur of the original Turnpike (exits 4X though 0X) which would be left out.

FL 91 and "FL 891", so the grid fits.

Or just 91A for the original mainline spur. Hey, if the interstates can do it....

[Max Rockatansky]

FDOT/FTE is signing the Turnpike with TOLL banners now. Any new signs that go up have a big yellow "TOLL" banner on top, above the regular green Turnpike sign.

Why not TOLL 91 signs? All the other toll roads do... Also extend 91over HEFT and jyst get rid of 821 so miles match

There's the four-mile spur of the original Turnpike (exits 4X though 0X) which would be left out.

FL 91 and "FL 891", so the grid fits.

Or just 91A for the original mainline spur. Hey, if the interstates can do it....

Suffix alternate routes are actually a thing with Florida State Roads.  I used to frequent FL 50A as an example I can throw out off the top of my head. 

[emory]

Suffix alternate routes are actually a thing with Florida State Roads.  I used to frequent FL 50A as an example I can throw out off the top of my head.

Oh I'm aware. I'm just saying there's a handful of hidden ones on freeways. SR 9A, SR 8A, and SR 93A carry I-95/I-295, I-110 and I-75 respectively, and eventually SR 9B will become I-795.

[Eth]

Suffix alternate routes are actually a thing with Florida State Roads.  I used to frequent FL 50A as an example I can throw out off the top of my head.

Oh I'm aware. I'm just saying there's a handful of hidden ones on freeways. SR 9A, SR 8A, and SR 93A carry I-95/I-295, I-110 and I-75 respectively, and eventually SR 9B will become I-795.

On that note, why exactly does SR 9 break free from I-95 at the Golden Glades interchange? Is there some historical significance to that?

[lordsutch]

On that note, why exactly does SR 9 break free from I-95 at the Golden Glades interchange? Is there some historical significance to that?

Wikipedia saith:

The section of SR 9 northeast into the Golden Glades Interchange was planned before the Interstate Highway System as a bypass to US 1.[citation needed] The bypass route was built next to CSX's Miami Subdivision.

[Eth]

Welp, I'm just gonna give myself a for not checking the obvious source on that one.

[florida]

On that note, why exactly does SR 9 break free from I-95 at the Golden Glades interchange? Is there some historical significance to that?

Wikipedia saith:

The section of SR 9 northeast into the Golden Glades Interchange was planned before the Interstate Highway System as a bypass to US 1.[citation needed] The bypass route was built next to CSX's Miami Subdivision.

Since Wikipedia needs a citation: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00015944/00001/7x?search=broward

SR 9 is shown complete from Dade County to SR 820 as "I.S." (or "I.S.U." when in an urban area).

[VTGoose]

It appears that it won't be too long (maybe, I have yet to figure out Florida highway construction) before it is possible to avoid Stark on U.S. 301. There is activity at both ends of what looks like a bypass to the west of the city. Now if they could wrap up the connection at I-10 to avoid the left turn and long wait for the traffic light, the trip from I-95 to I-75 will be slightly better.

One thing I have discovered in various visits to my son in the Tampa area is that Florida drivers have no concept of "constant speed" on I-75, nor do lanes seem to matter (slow lane on the right, fastest lane on the left). I set the cruise control on 78 and it is on and off while dealing with the steering-wheel holders. Instance one -- approach a slower vehicle in the center lane, move left to pass, and have the vehicle operator realize someone is passing so he must speed up, either matching speed or pulling away. Instance two -- approach a slower vehicle in the far left lane and either brake because there is nowhere to go or move right a lane or two to get around the slowpoke. Instance three -- idle along behind a "passing" vehicle that is barely moving 1 MPH faster than the truck being passed, only to have the passer speed up once past the slower truck.

I also found in general on this most recent trip (Tuesday) that people don't seem to know what two quick flashes of the high beams means when you are close behind them. Either they had no desire to move out of the left lane, even though there was plenty of open space in the right lane (and beyond the initial point) or they just didn't understand the request to yield to a faster vehicle. It took a lane shift to get around them, watching them stick to the left lane while others had to weave around them or were stuck when traffic caught up in the right lane.

Bruce, back in Blacksburg