January 23, 2009
Boston Globe
Patrick interested in placing tolls at the border
Governor Deval Patrick said today that he was interested in placing tolls on vehicles on interstate highways at the state’s borders and that his administration had already contacted the federal government, which would need to give its permission, about the idea.
“What I would love to see is … border tolls at all of the interstate entrances, maybe Route 3 as well. In other words, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York. If we did that right, it would be possible to remove all of the tolls inside of the Commonwealth. Maybe you’d keep something at the tunnel,” he said in an interview on WBUR-FM’s Radio Boston show. It wasn’t clear which tunnel he was referring to, but tolls are currently being charged at the Ted Williams and Sumner tunnels.
“We have made those overtures to the federal authorities to see whether they would work with us and they’re open to it,” he said.
“While he hasn’t endorsed any plans relative to new border tolls, the governor has said repeatedly that we need to have a full and open debate on transportation reform and all options should be on the table,” the Patrick administration said in a statement released Friday afternoon by Klark Jessen, a spokesman for the Executive Office of Transportation. Jessen said there would be no further comment from the administration.
Tolls are already charged at the entrance to the Massachusetts Turnpike in New York and Connecticut.
In October, Patrick said on a WRKO-AM radio show that “there’s some interest in looking at border tolls coming in from New Hampshire and from Rhode Island.” But his communications director said after the interview that Patrick was referring to suggestions made by others.
Patrick also said in today’s radio interview that he had looked at “dozens” of scenarios that would raise more money for the state’s financially strapped transportation agencies. He noted that the border tolls would not completely address the need for more revenue.
He also said in the interview that he was “not hostile” to the idea of raising the state’s gas tax, but said if the gas tax is raised it should be enough to put the transportation network on “a sustained basis,” the tax should be dedicated to transportation; and it should be accompanied by a reform of the transportation system.
Nancy Singer, a spokeswoman for the Federal Highway Administration in Washington, said that the federal government would evaluate any proposal to impose tolls on federally-funded roads, weighing the specifics of the application and various regulations. She said no official request had been received from the state for tolling of the roads. But she noted that the agency has a division office in Massachusetts and “obviously, they have ongoing communications with the state.”
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Worse yet, read these related articles: Oregon Might Tax Per Mile Using GPS