Yay or Nay to Tolls on the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges?
If transit group Move NY has its way, moving between boroughs via car will become dramatically more expensive. The group is pushing to revive its failed plan to charge a toll of $5.54 in each direction when crossing the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges. (The plan also calls for a toll on the Queensboro Bridge,…
If transit group Move NY has its way, moving between boroughs via car will become dramatically more expensive. The group is pushing to revive its failed plan to charge a toll of $5.54 in each direction when crossing the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges. (The plan also calls for a toll on the Queensboro Bridge, as well as crossing 60th Street in Manhattan or taking the West Side Highway or FDR, and to lower tolls slightly where they already exist.) What do you think of the idea?
Transit Group Would Add Tolls to Four New York Bridges [NY Times]
Proposal to Add Tolls on Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg Bridges [Eagle]
Photo by Anne Holmes
My car was stolen 6 years ago. I never replaced it after discovering how much cheaper, faster, and stress free public transportation is here. Now if they would just clean up the dirty smelly subway stations . . . . . .
“Before tolls are raised on the bridges to Manhattan, restore the toll on the Verrazano to 2-way to discourage NJ drivers from entering the city via Brooklyn.”
Why would someone from NJ enter Manhattan via Brooklyn? The toll is the same, minus what maybe a dollar less on the turnpike, and you sure wouldn’t save any time in traffic.
Junior Bush’s Great Recession accounted for a large portion of that.
The conservative deficit hawks come out only for Democratic presidents.
Other times we get guys like Dick Cheney telling us deficits don’t matter.
The same reason why cabs and buses aren’t exempted from tolls on the Triboro (or RFK) bridge. Written in every authorizing resolution for toll bridges is a non-discrimination clause where all vehicles pay the same tolls. It prevents politicians from exempting and carving out certain classes of vehicles from tolls since they all use the bridge equally.
This is such a tired trope. The “common man” you refer to doesn’t drive into Manhattan, unless it’s in a truck or commercial vehicle, which are covered separately in this plan. The “common man” already can’t afford to drive into Manhattan during rush hour, so give this a break.
Why would that be illegal? FWIW, taxis and for-hire vehicles are exempt from the London congestion charge, and FHV in NY can use carpool lanes without 3+ people.
You’re leaving out two key points, benjamin. Specifically, the road “expenses” that are not being covered by these taxes in the states mentioned include much more than essential upkeep, but lavish, non-essential projects that the states knew they couldn’t afford going into the matter (note, the bulk of the studies on this matter will acknowledge that gas taxes cover only a bare majority of roads spending, leaving out that road expenses contain expenses for more than just essential projects and upkeep).. Additionally, So, yes, don’t shoot the messenger. Also, I never stated that gas taxes, alone, are realizing the revenues necessary for upkeep. Instead, there are general existing tolls (as I mentioned, the Verrazano Bridge makes a $250 PROFIT each year in tolls alone, money that is being used to pay for non-essential pet projects by Albany and NYC) and other fees.
And, yet, in NY, they are higher than in most of the rest of the country; other states are doing just fine actually using their gas taxes to repair and keep up roads. Note, other states don’t have as much vehicular traffic as NY, but NY makes up for that in additional gas taxes as it takes more gas for the vehicles most on the road (think taxis, etc.) to drive around this city. If you honestly think such a proposal is going to keep fares down, you are delusional!
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By the way, apart from the fact that the Verrazano Bridge’s tolls do much more than pay for bridge upkeep, why does it make sense (just speaking “fairness”) to enact a plan to ease fares to NYC’s least populous borough, thereby increasing tolls on the great majority of residents?
And EZ pass lanes never have backups, right? (Note, they’d have even more if not for cash lanes). What’s more, these “lanes” would be in congested, relatively narrow areas as is. This is a disaster waiting to happen and would not significantly ease traffic, though it would provide funds to bailout the state and city for other lavish projects!