Report Suggests New Tolls For Region

"There is not one blanket solution," Cahalan said. "We have to use every tool in the toolbox. We've got to look at transit, variable pricing, transit-oriented development. . . . Just looking at variable pricing as a solution is not the end-all. It's a tool in the toolbox where it makes sense to do so."

Kirby said the 18-month study, funded by the Federal Highway Administration, was more than an exercise.

"We think it should be seriously considered; otherwise, we wouldn't put it out there," Kirby said.

"Does it all have to be done immediately? No. We've already added some tolling facilities and we're on our way. So let's look for some more," Kirby said, referring to tolls planned for Virginia and Maryland. "But the absolute key is to plow every penny of tolls back into transit."

Washington area drivers will soon experience for themselves the pluses and minuses of congestion-priced highways. The first of a network of high-occupancy-toll, or HOT, lanes in Virginia could open in just two years, and the intercounty connector in Maryland, which also will impose tolls, is scheduled to be completed by 2012. A widening of a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 95 south of Baltimore will have express toll lanes. The projects will use tolls to regulate traffic by raising or lowering tolls every few minutes to encourage the optimum number of vehicles on a highway while keeping traffic moving at highway speeds.

Transportation leaders point to the grudging acceptance of HOT lanes and think there is a new openness among Washington-area leaders to tolling the region's way out of its traffic mess.

"I've been surprised by the lack of horror at this idea," Kirby said of tolls. "Ten years ago, people would have said you were out of your mind. Now, people are saying, 'Push a little farther.' No question it's a tough sell politically. But it's becoming much more realistic."