Skip to main content

Campaign to eliminate I-190 Grand Island, NY tolls

Image
By
Buffalo businessman and developer Carl Paladino is up to something again.

Paladino, who led a successful drive last year to remove toll barriers on the I-190 (Niagara Thruway) section of the New York State Thruway, has set forth on a new cause, ending the collection of the Grand Island bridge tolls. The Grand Island Bridges carry Interstate 190 and NY 324 across the eastern channel of the Niagara River between Tonawanda and Niagara Falls, and there are no other bridges that connect Grand Island to the rest of the world.

In a letter to New York Governor Eliot Spitzer this week, Paladino laid out his argument against the levy of bridge tolls in both financial and moral terms. While the letter does not mention the course of legal action, Paladino is hoping Spitzer will do the right thing and continue to tear down the Berlin Wall against Buffalo-area commuters. Paladino's reasoning: The Thruway Authority collected $20.6 million in toll revenue from the Grand Island bridges last year, but spent only $10.6 million on the bridges’ routine maintenance. Currently, the state charges a 75 cent toll for passenger vehicles to cross the bridge, and less money for Grand Island residents and commuters who use E-ZPass. According to the New York Thruway website, the deep discount equals out to be 25 cents for commuters and 9 cents for residents. These tolls are only charged for those people who are driving to Grand Island.

Currently, there are three sets of bridges that charge tolls on the Thruway. They are the Grand Island Bridges, the Tappan Zee Bridge and the Castleton-on-Hudson Bridge. The Castleton Bridge has a toll that is 75 cents, and because it is part of the ticket system, is charged only when exiting the Thruway mainline. Paladino's argument is that the charge to the Grand Island bridges is unfair, since in 2005, the toll went up from 50 cents to 75 cents a trip (a 50% increase), while the Tappan Zee Bridge toll went up from $3 to $4, which is a 25% increase.

Additionally, according to the Buffalo News, the Grand Island bridges are slated for an estimated $500 million replacement. Tolls throughout the Thruway system would finance this. Which means if I use the Thruway to go from Albany to Newburgh, I am helping pay for any repairs done on Grand Island, or Syracuse, or any location along the Thruway of your choice.

My opinion, keep the tolls in place because the Grand Island Bridge are used for long distance travel and trucks going between New York and Ontario. This long distance travel should be subject to helping finance the cost of the tolls on the Thruway. However, if a compromise must be made, then it would be good to drop the tolls for Grand Island commuters and residents with E-ZPass. These people already pay a reduced fare to cross the bridges, since it is their only way on and off the island by car. I am not sure how much of a difference this makes as far as toll revenue is concerned, but my impression is that the Grand Island bridges are part of a more long distance corridor.

http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/buffaloerie/story/79186.html - Buffalo News
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Former US Route 50 and the Pioneer Route Lincoln Highway on Johnson's Pass Road

By
Johnson's Pass Road is one of the oldest highway corridors in California.  Johnson's Pass was part of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road as it was completed during 1856 over the Sierra Nevada.  The pass would later be incorporated into the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway in 1913 and US Route 50 in 1926.  Johnson's Pass Road would be bypassed by a new alignment of US Route 50 over Echo Summit in 1938.  A replacement of the Meyers Grade east of Johnson's Pass would be opened to traffic in 1947.   Johnson's Pass Road remains accessible to traffic and is still signed by the Lincoln Highway Association.  Pictured as the blog cover is the view from the top of Johnson's Pass Road overlooking modern US Route 50 and Lake Tahoe.   Part 1; the history of Johnson's Pass Much of the history of what become the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road is discussed in the  September 1950 California Highways & Public Works  during its Centennial Edition.  The or...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 50 and the South Lincoln Highway from Folsom east to Placerville

By
The corridor of Folsom of Sacramento County east to Placerville of El Dorado County has been a long established corridor of overland travel dating back to the California Gold Rush.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor was once part of the path of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road which became the first California State Highway and later the South Lincoln Highway.  In time the South Lincoln Highway's surface alignment was inherited by US Route 50.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor also includes the communities of; Clarksville, Shingle Springs and El Dorado. Part 1; the history of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road, South Lincoln Highway and US Route 50 through Folsom-Placerville Folsom is located on the American River/Lake Natoma of eastern Sacramento County.  That lands now occupied by the City of Folsom were part of Rancho Rio de los Americanos prior to the finding of gold at Sutter's Mill during 1848.  During the California Gold Rush the lands of Rancho Rio de los Americanos were p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Angus L. Macdonald Bridge

By
At 1.3 kilometers (or about 0.84 miles) in length, the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge is one of two bridges crossing over the Halifax Harbour between Halifax, Nova Scotia and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, with the other bridge being the A. Murray Mackay Bridge . Opened in 1955 and named after former Nova Scotia Premier and Canadian Minister of Defense for Naval Services Angus L. Macdonald, the Macdonald Bridge was the first bridge that crossed Halifax Harbour that was opened to traffic. The Macdonald Bridge was also the subject of the Big Lift, which was only the second time in history that the span of a suspension bridge were replaced while the bridge was open to traffic. Planning began in 2010 for the Big Lift, while construction took place between 2015 and 2017. Similar work occurred on the Lion's Gate Bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia before the project took place on the Macdonald Bridge. At this time, much of the bridge infrastructure is new, leaving only the towers, main cables and...
1 comment
Read more