Residents Continue to Voice Opposition to Tolls on Mount Hope Bridge
Residents continue to voice opposition to this plan even after the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority tabled its talks Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority board of directors voted unanimously to table a discussion on a proposal to ask the General Assembly to approve tolls on the Mount Hope Bridge.
The board voted to postpone this discussion until its next meeting on Feb. 8.
However, local residents are still voicing opposition to this proposal. The following comments were made this week on Bristol-Warren Patch's Facebook page:
Paul Mancieri of Leo's Ristorante wrote, "Tolls on the bridge would be a disaster. It's a local bridge not one traveled heavily by out of staters. This would be another form of taxation that in these times is not warranted."
Dale Aubrey wrote, "there must have been a reason why they got rid of them in the first place, can the tolls really generate enough funds for employees/benefits/pensions/ AND have enough left over for the reason in the first place???"
Julie Crawford Kallman wrote, "Please, NO, the impact on military families would be horrible. As well as many other commuters and businesses."
Marcia Johnstone Whitney says, "No to the tolls. I was an RWC student when the tolls did exist and as a student it was a pain, now as a commuter it would still be a drag. In fact it would eliminate me from coming to Bristol at all as I would go through Fall River..."
So tell us, Do you think there should be tolls on the Mount Hope Bridge?
John Tattrie
4:55 pm on Friday, January 20, 2012
Seems foolish at this point to "Re-Build" the Toll Booth at Mt Hope, It wasn't that long ago I worked on the project to demolish and repave the area that Toll Booth once stood on. The thought of returning one to the area is a slap in the face to the residents that need to traverse these local bridges regularly. Back when the Sakonett Bridge could no longer carry truck traffic, it cost business owners thousands of dollars in lost time & fuel to have to cut through Warren & Bristol to get to Aquidneck Island. Placing a toll would further aggravate the scituation. This is a prime example of why it is important to take care of infrastructure...Good Maintenance prevents issues such as this. And it keeps people working.
DownTown
6:32 pm on Friday, January 20, 2012
$6 million to build a toll booth plus the cost of having $$bodies there 24/7?
The Mt Hope bridge is 83 years old and every summer from 9 to 3-3:30 it's a one lane bridge carrying more and more traffic.
The I-895 project would have connected 4 lanes of traffic through Bristol over 2 bridges directly connected to Rte 24 with $185 million in Federal funding which turned into the Jamestown Bridge replacement because voters here are in love with sitting in traffic.
When businesses here wonder why things are so tough I would point them to the area's antiquated road infrastructure.
Mrs. B
11:28 am on Saturday, January 21, 2012
People who work with special needs adults and children in Rhode Island have recently been given a 5% pay cut. These people travel the Mt Hope and/or the Sakonnet bridges every day to get to their jobs. And the state wants to place a toll on them too? And btw, the same General Assembly who passed the 5% pay cut on these workers gave themselves a generous raise not 3 months ago. Keep voting these democrats in again and again Rhode Island.
Nancy L. Richard
11:35 am on Saturday, January 21, 2012
Putting a toll on the Mt. Hope Bridge is tantamount to killing business on the island . Once or twice a week my husband and I cross the bridge to frequent restaurants and businesses on the island. If this toll passes, we will no longer do this. It just seems to me that the cost of construction and implementing a "fine" system for those who would drive through without paying, far exceeds any economic benefit. Furthermore, it will just add more red tape and inefficiency to our already burdened tax system.