Rep. Carney’s Toll Survey
This article was archived from the previous WordPress site. Formatting and media should be close, but may not match the original post perfectly.
Over the next few days, the legislature may take up legislation implementing electronic tolls in the State of Connecticut.
I’d like to know your thoughts on tolls and transportation, but before asking for your opinion, here are some facts
- Tolls cannot be placed only at Connecticut’s borders. Why? It violates federal law.
- Connecticut cannot only charge out-of-state drivers. Why? Again, it violates federal law. However, it is possible to give Connecticut drivers a discount at toll gantries – similar to what both Massachusetts and New York have in place.
- Toll revenue is protected through the federal government and cannot be spent on transportation corridors other than where the toll gantry is located without federal approval.
- Tolls would be all-electronic and there would be no ‘toll booths’ similar to what Connecticut used to have. Tolls would be collected via EZ Pass or ‘tolls by mail’ in which a photo of one’s license would be taken and a bill would be sent to the owner of said vehicle.
- Tolls would be based on a congestion pricing model, which means that the toll cost would change based on time-of-day and road conditions (for example, it would be higher at rush hour than in the middle of the night).
- Who determines where the tolls are and the cost? That is currently up for debate. Some legislators believe we should have a new Transportation Finance Authority which would be able to do all of this without going through the legislature. I am opposed to that concept because it creates another layer of bureaucracy that is not accountable to the public.
- How many toll gantries and what cost? This is where things get tricky. In previous concepts, the Connecticut Department of Transportation has recommended 72 toll gantries throughout the state of Connecticut – including on 95, 84, 91, the Merritt, 9, 2, 11, and 8. They estimate anywhere from $600-800 million in revenue (with the Speaker of the House claiming $1.3B), but have released little details on where this number comes from or how much tolling will cost Connecticut residents. In comparison, Massachusetts has only 13 gantries and they are only on I-90.
Understanding what tolls mean for the State of Connecticut…
