Predicted driver response to a cordon toll around Fort Myers Beach, Florida

Fort Myers Beach experiences severe traffic congestion from January to April when many travelers visit the island. Throughout this four-month period, drivers routinely wait 30 to 45 minutes in congestion stretching as far as 1.2 miles in order to cross Matanzas Pass Bridge at the north end of Estero Island. Cordon tolls have been suggested as a possible method of traffic congestion mitigation. This paper examines the results from a voluntary survey conducted in March of 2003 in order to predict driver response to this potential toll. The findings indicate that a cordon toll would remove 6.6 percent to 31.3 percent of current bridge traffic at toll levels ranging from $1 to $4. This does not take into account any latent demand that is likely to occur due to this predicted traffic reduction. These traffic diversion estimates are reasonable when compared to other cordon tolls outside of the United States.