» Productive Toll Meeting highlights. Albany’s Insanity: When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty. Thomas Jefferson

Posted in December 5th, 2007

This morning I proposed two different things one to keep the toll increase from happening and even cut the tolls in half.

#1 take the Canal system from them and make it a state funded stand alone entity that saves the thruway authority and toll payers $80 Million yearly. Also dedicated funds from the federal government like the $400 Million they should have received last year at the department of transportation be applied to the thruway system. That alone would cut the tolls in half. So in this one suggestion we see $480 million dollars in savings.

Secondly and I have been talking to Senator Maziarz about this, start making the thruway authority smaller, remove their control from the Niagara section of the thruway and the Grand Island Bridges and turn it over to the New York State Department of Transportation.This will remove the tolls at the bridges, eliminate the daily traffic back up and stop the pollution and safety hazards surrounding the toll booths.

Funding will come from the gas tax reimbursement from the federal government and existing taxes from the Highway Use Tax that trucks already pay. The H.U.T. tax is a 5 cent a mile tax paid by trucks to help fund the D.O.T. There is also state taxes specifically for road use that also funds the road system.

Jeff Williams from the thruway authority agrees, he feels that the Grand Island Bridges and the Niagara section should be run by the D.O.T. right now, so let’s make it happen. The Assembly Republicans agreed and will contact Senator Maziarz to put together legislation to do just that.

I will work with all of them to make sure this happens and keep you updated.

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