Our View: Toll Freeze Deserves Support

Salem News

November 20, 2008 06:00 am

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Local legislators have been getting an earful, and North Shore residents will have a chance next month to tell the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority board directly, just how they feel about the proposed toll increases at the harbor tunnels.

The planned hikes, which state officials claim are needed to help pay the cost of the Big Dig, will impose an extreme hardship on those who regularly commute into Boston from the North Shore. And adding insult to injury is the fact that at the same time these tolls are doubling, fees are being eliminated for those using the Mass Pike west of Route 128.

"It is disappointing that this administration, too, took the easy route ... and chose to go after the low-lying fruit instead of stepping up to truly lead," Senate Majority Leader Fred Berry, D-Peabody, declared Monday.

The Turnpike Authority has scheduled a public hearing for Monday, Dec. 15, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Lynn City Hall. But right now most expect the board to go forward with plans to raise the tolls at the Ted Williams and Sumner tunnels from the current $3.50 to $7 as of next February.

That's unacceptable, and we were glad to note that most area legislators have signed onto a bill filed by Rep. Steve Walsh, D-Lynn, that would freeze all tolls until Dec. 31, 2009. They want the state to consider alternatives — like reducing expenses.

Walsh rightly notes that it is patently unfair for the state to put the burden of paying the Big Dig debt on the backs of those living in the suburbs north and west of Boston, while those from the South Shore and along the I-93 corridor continue to enjoy free highway access to the city.

"On top of the toll hikes, parking rates at MBTA stations have gone up and bus routes are in danger," Rep. Lori Ehrlich, D-Marblehead, points out, "leaving working people in my district few reasonable options."

Adds Rep. Mary Grant, D-Beverly, "We need a comprehensive plan that is fair and offers long-term stability to our transportation system."

One wonders whether some on Beacon Hill still have this image of the North Shore as an enclave of the wealthy whose residents can well afford a 100 percent increase in tolls. They'll soon find out that's hardly the case at all.

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