With the New York Legislature preparing to return from break Monday, Oct. 13, several bills of interest remain active. One bill would eliminate a toll plaza from Interstate 95 while another would remove a separate toll facility.

Assemblyman George Latimer, D-Rye, is the sponsor of a bill that would require the New York State Thruway Authority to stop collecting tolls at the New Rochelle toll plaza on the New England section of the roadway.

The measure cleared the Assembly shortly after the Thruway Authority voted to raise tolls on roads and bridges. The agency acted despite objections from Gov. David Paterson and other state leaders.

Latimer said the Authority’s actions to increase tolls by 5 percent in 2009 and an additional 5 percent in 2010 spurred Assembly passage of the bill to dismantle tolls.

A 285-mile east-west trip on the Thruway from Albany to Buffalo currently costs a five-axle truck $52.16 with E-ZPass or $54.90 in cash.

A 5 percent increase in 2009 would make the E-ZPass toll $54.77 and the cash toll $57.65. The 5 percent boost in 2010 would push tolls to $57.51 for E-ZPass and to $60.53 for cash.

Advocates for the toll removal say commuters from Westchester, the Bronx and Manhattan pay a disproportionate fee to access this section of the Thruway. Traffic also diverts onto local roads to avoid paying, they say.

Others cite noise and air pollution from traffic tie-ups at the toll plaza for pursuing the change.

Opponents say that eliminating the toll plaza would be a devastating blow to the Thruway Authority, which doesn’t get state tax dollars. About two-thirds of the traffic on the Thruway is composed of passenger vehicles, and commercial trucks make up the other third.

The bill – A1220 – is in the Senate Rules Committee.

A similar effort in the Assembly would eliminate the Yonkers toll plaza. Supporters say change is needed there because locals must pay to drive as little as two miles between exits.

They also say congestion at the Yonkers facility is similar to traffic at the Spring Valley toll plaza. Tolls at Spring Valley are slated to be discontinued because of the amount of traffic congestion experienced at the facility.

Sponsored by Assemblyman Mike Spano, D-Yonkers, the bill – A10299 – is in the Assembly Transportation Committee. All legislation must clear the statehouse prior to the end of the session in December.

To view other legislative activities of interest for New York in 2008, click here.

– By Keith Goble, state legislative editor
keith_goble@landlinemag.com