[celticjames]

Roads are subject to wear and tear. Higher traffic means more wear and thus more repairs. Repairs for most roads come out of municipal budgets. Municipal budgets are paid for by property taxes. The homeowners bought that road. So who's got an entitlement problem here?

[FroshKiller]

The homeowners still, honestly. The homeowners don't pay higher taxes if their roads require more repairs. If anything, higher traffic on roads that frequently need repairs means lower property values, thus lower property taxes for those same homeowners.

Anyway, point being the homeowners did not buy that road. Previous generations of taxpayers paid for the construction of most roads, and the current generations of taxpayers are paying upkeep on all muni roads, not just the ones they live on.

Even if I agreed with you, most of the people taking residential detours are probably still local...which means they, too, paid for the roads!