Tobin tolls poised to follow tunnels upward

LYNN – You gotta be kiddin’! State officials hinted Tobin Bridge tolls could jump from $3 to $7 even as Sumner and Williams Tunnel tolls are set to double from $3.50.
Massachusetts Port Authority Chief Executive Officer Thomas Kinton confirmed a Tobin toll hike is under consideration as a way to generate more money for the Authority as it prepares to assume debt now held by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.
The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority Board of Directors voted last Friday to hike Sumner Tunnel and Ted Williams Tunnel tolls. The increase could be in place as early as by February.
The Turnpike scheduled four hearings on the hike, with one to be held in the City Council Chamber, Dec. 15, at 6:30 p.m.
State legislators like Steven Walsh and city officials in Revere and other cities fear toll hikes will push commuters onto secondary routes to Boston, including Route 60, clogging traffic on those roads and contributing to increase wear and tear.
“It’s going to put an additional impact of the secondary roads,” said Walsh, “making cities like Everett a parking lot.”
Walsh said the toll hike will transform Route 1A to the Ted Williams into “a road for the rich” used only by commuters who can afford annual toll costs estimated by the Item at $1,440 for Fast Pass commuters receiving a proposed $1 discount off the increase to $1,680.
Walsh filed legislation Nov. 18 proposing a toll freeze until Dec. 31, 2009 or until Gov. Deval Patrick’s transportation reform package is passed by the Legislature.
Walsh said his proposal gives legislators a year to come up with ways to pay off the state’s transportation debts. Walsh, D-Lynn, said he feared motorists now will seek to avoid the high tolls at the Sumner and Ted Williams tunnels, putting pressure on cities like Chelsea and Revere.
Transportation Secretary and Turnpike board chairman Bernard Cohen last week said the Turnpike had no choice but to raise tolls given the agency’s massive debt.
“We inherited this problem,” Cohen said. “The whole point of the plan is to broaden the base.”
Mary Z. Connaughton, the lone board member who voted against the plan, said she preferred higher gas taxes to help eliminate the Turnpike Authority’s debt.
A gas tax increase has support among legislative leaders but commuters told The Item Thursday the idea is poorly timed given the declining economy and looming holiday spending season.