A study of Toronto's city centre found that 19 percent of freight vehicle stops were made in front of buildings with good off-street loading facilities, but less than 10 percent of these trucks made use of the facilities. They could not be bothered because of the mild inconvenience of going off the street. Similarly, a user fee would also force private individuals to ask themselves whether they really need to be on the road. The fee would sift serious users from users who could wait an hour, travel an hour earlier, or resort to other modes of transport. We sift and sort users like this when it comes to electricity, telephones, and, in some jurisdictions, water use.
Roads deserve the same treatment.
Fifty years ago, pricing streets was not an issue, as cars were few. This started changing in the 1950s, just at the time user fees were becoming a necessity. Toronto built its giant expressways then. All to no avail. The more roads that were built, the faster they seemed to fill, like the Hydra, the Greek beast that grew several heads for every one that Hercules cut off.