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TARRYTOWN, N.Y. – News about potential Tappan Zee Bridge toll hikes has residents outraged.
“These politicians don't care about the insane price increase because the taxpayers are paying for their ride,” Amy Ceconi wrote on The Tarrytown Daily Voice Facebook page.
State officials said tolls for the proposed bridge could be $14, nearly triple the current $5. That figure correlates with the “transit-capable” bridge that officials are hoping to build — a bridge that will include peak-hours-only express bus lanes.
Several former and current government officials -- including former Westchester County Executives Alfred Del Bello, Andy O'Rourke and Andy Spano -- held a press conference in Tarrytown Sunday to address the issue.
The toll hikes are part of the state's plan to raise funds to pay for the new bridge, which will cost an estimated $5.2 billion. State officials also hope to get a federal loan for nearly a third of the bridge's total costs.
Officials said the proposed project will give drivers a safe bridge and benefit the surrounding local economies.
"We look forward to the start of this project," said officials in a press release after the conference. "We are confident that some of the proposed $5 billion in spending will find its way into our local economy and benefit small and large businesses alike."
Officials said the influx of designers, inspectors, construction workers and suppliers would increase profits for local businesses and introduce new consumers to the area.
If the state were to rehabilitate the existing bridge, officials said tolls could be $12. A bridge that includes a mass transit system such as bus rapid-transit would have $28 tolls, the state said.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo endorsed plans Sunday for a new bridge in a statement.
“The choice is clear, the tolls commuters will have for a new, better transit ready bridge are roughly the same as the tolls they will have to pay to repair the old Tappan Zee Bridge, which will still be dangerous, congested and unable to handle any transit,” said Cuomo. “Instead of paying more for the same bridge, it’s time to invest in a new better bridge that will create jobs, reduce congestion and give the region a real transit option.”
Discounts will be available for E-ZPass users and commuters on each of the toll options.
E-ZPass drivers are now paying $4.75 to cross the bridge. Motorists would see a $12 toll if the state repaired the existing bridge, a $14 toll for a transit-ready bridge and a $28 toll for a bridge with mass transit.
Commuters would see a $7.20 toll if the state repaired the existing bridge, an $8.40 toll for a transit-ready bridge and a $16.80 toll for a bridge with mass transit. Commuters currently pay $3 per crossing.
The proposed toll options would be similar to other bridges in the area, state officials said. Tolls for the George Washington Bridge are expected to increase to $15 in 2015. The Whitestone and Throgs Neck bridge tolls are expected to increase to $13 later in 2012.
Reader Tom Ehret called the potential toll hike a rip-off on Facebook.
“That bridge would be made of gold with all the money they make from every car,” he said.
Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner wants elected officials in the area to discuss the toll hikes, which he described as “excessive.”
“This will be a tremendous burden for lower income residents of both counties, for seniors and young people,” Feiner said.
Feiner suggested the state should offer discounts to local residents, pointing to the Grand Island Bridge in Buffalo where local residents get a significant discount when crossing the bridge.
Comments (1)
"If you have built a boat to take you to the greener side,
And if the boat is built of every lie you ever lied,
You'll never reach the Promised Land of Love, I guarantee
'Cause lies cannot hold water and you'll sink into the sea
Cross over the bridge, cross over the bridge
Change your reckless way of livin', cross over the bridge
Leave your fickle past behind you,
And true romance will find you,
Brother, cross over the bridge"
Cross Over the Bridge -- Patti Page
Paul Feiner again sticking his nose in other government's business while he neglects his own bailiwick. These new ideas are launched by the Town Supervisor at the rate of one every six weeks and curiously they all have one thing in common beside the name Paul Feiner latching onto them. They share the common thread that while Greenburgh goes down the rabbit hole, Feiner becomes more attentive to what's happening elsewhere.
With time running out and the meter ratcheting up, Feiner has yet to make a dent in replacing the lost $1.2 million from his deliberate failure to renew the WESTHelp lease. Each month the 108 units of housing remain vacant, it costs the Town $100,000 of lost revenue; $1.1 million so far and rising. Even the inappropriate and unacceptable Ferncliff College as tenant would bring but $530,000 in rent three years down the line after the 108 units are demolished and the College's buildings are open for business. That means a loss to Greenburgh of over $4 million to reach a stabilized yearly loss of some $400,000.
The sport bubble at the center of the former Frank's Nursery site fiasco will only bring in at best some $150,000 of net revenue and this only in the last years of the 15 year lease. As for the unpaid taxes which led to the Town's foreclosure, kiss them goodbye.
The tennis bubble at Veteran Park is still in its early days of negotiation but this too will not bring in much more than $250,000 yearly.
Add these pipe dreams up and together they don't spell a plus for taxpayers.
Meanwhile, the Town needs to cope with paying itself back the $4 million lent to the Town-run waterworks. Lest you be shedding crocodile tears for Feiner, don't let them get washed away when the rainy day of the Fortress Bible decision arrives with a multi-million dollar uninsured judgment against Greenburgh taxpayers.
But there's good news too. "The Town" is getting $ 1.2 million (over time) from the Valhalla School District. "The Town" is in quotes because this includes everyone but Feiner who worked against this conclusion. "The Town" herein is benefitting from the volunteer (indeed they had to force their way in) efforts of Bob Bernstein and Herb Rosenberg.
So, as he prefers to talk about, with all this "good news" for Greenburgh taxpayers heading their way, this no doubt is solid grounds for Feiner to start worrying about the few Greenburgh taxpayers who commute to and from work over the TZ bridge and are also what Feiner calls living on fixed incomes. A phrase which probably applies to all salaried employees. Unhappy with the proposed commuter rate, Feiner cites a bridge connecting Buffalo, NY with Canada as a valid comparison because economically depressed Buffalo is to be judged the equal of Westchester County. And to be sure, Feiner's already calling for a committee to lobby against the higher commuter rate already proposed. Oh, did I mention that the Buffalo bridge's last section was completed in 1965 and the TZ bridge is about to embark upon a new life some $6 billion later? Naturally Feiner doesn't mention this but heck he doesn't really care about the tired, the sick and the poor; he only cares about getting the Feiner name in front of the public.
Go back and reread what he's doing (or not doing) for the people in his Town; not what he seeks for a few commuters who may have trouble paying the modest increase in the commuter fare. Note: the $14 fare is NOT the commuter fare.
Someone's going to be paying for the new bridge; if not by higher tolls then by higher taxes on gasoline or higher State and Federal taxes. But that's not Feiner's concern or understanding. How could anyone be so unfair as to put a price on seeing Feiner's name in print.
The over $10 million in losses at the beginning of this comment are just the down payment on returning Feiner to office. But I'm told there's something called the "new math". This means that if Feiner can save 100-300 persons maybe $40, that's worth every penny of the $10 million+ in losses is say a four year period.
If 1 + 1 adds up to anything but 2, you're probably an unshakable supporter of Feiner.
Hal Samis