Do not ask for whom the tolls grow — they won't grow at all if a contingent of North Shore legislators get their way.
A bipartisan group of local representatives and senators, led by Rep. Steven Walsh, D-Lynn, is moving to freeze the proposed doubling of tolls on roads administered by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. The cost at the Ted Williams and Sumner tunnels is slated to rise from $3.50 to $7, following a preliminary vote by the Turnpike Authority on Friday.
"To say $7 to go through the tunnel," Rep. John Keenan, D-Salem, said, "my question is — do I get a Happy Meal, too?"
Among other problems, he predicts a chaotic situation, with drivers clogging city streets while looking for alternative routes.
The charges will fall heavily on drivers from the North Shore and west of Boston. South Shore drivers, by contrast, pay no tolls on their way to Boston despite the fact that much of the money will go toward paying for the Big Dig, a tunnel system benefiting travelers from the south.
Walsh's bill would forbid toll increases until Dec. 31, 2009, or until a new transportation plan is passed. The idea is to let the Legislature solve the authority's budget shortfall in January, probably with an increase in the gas tax, a boost that would hit all the state's drivers equally.
Among the harshest critics of the toll increase is Senate Majority Leader Fred Berry, D-Peabody, who places blame directly on the administration of Gov. Deval Patrick. The governor chose the members of the Turnpike Authority, he points out.
"(Patrick) put a gun to our heads," Berry said. "He's going to raise the toll before he offers any solutions. ... This is exactly what the Romney Administration did, what the Cellucci Administration did, what the Weld Administration did. They keep raising the tolls because it's easy to do."
Meanwhile, Berry said, a plan by the governor to combine the Turnpike Authority with the state Highway Department remains under wraps, despite the fact that it could have a bearing on any budget shortfall.
"They haven't come forward with the outline of the bill, never mind the bill itself," he said.
Rep. Lori Ehrlich (D-Marblehead) sees the toll increase as part of a disturbing trend.
"On top of the toll hikes," she said in a press release, "parking rates at MBTA stations have gone up and bus routes are in danger — leaving working people in my district with few reasonable options. We need to put a freeze on any increases so we can figure out how to finance our roads in the most equitable way."
But passing the freeze might not be so easy. "The House is in informal session," Rep. Brad Hill, R-Ipswich, said. That means legislation passes without a recorded vote, and an objection from a single representative can stop it cold.
"Then we'll introduce it next session," Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, said.
"Here lies the problem," Berry said. "This is a 200-person Legislature. It's very hard to make radical changes."
For his part, Keenan hopes to see more than a temporary fix. A gas tax makes sense for a lot of reasons, and he wonders if it should become a substitute for all tolls.
Tolls require an expensive infrastructure and workers. "It's the least effective way to collect revenues," Keenan said.
Berry agrees. "I think we ought to get together and talk it through and come up with a solution that makes sense," he said. "It might be an increased gas tax."
Hill is among those lamenting a lack of reform at the Turnpike Authority. "I haven't heard of 1,000 jobs being cut like we had to do at the state," he complained. "It's always increase, increase, increase."
"It seems the first resort is always to collect more money from the people we represent," Tarr said. "And it ought to be the last resort."
