By comparing tolls on the Tappan Zee Bridge to the George Washington Bridge, the Thruway Authority is diverting attention away from the real issue which is toll equity across the ENTIRE 570-mile toll facility from the New England Thruway and the Cross Westchester Expressway in the South all the way to Albany, Syracuse and Buffalo in the North and Western parts of the State. Tolls in NYC are not the issue- or we could look at the Bear Mountain or Newburgh Beacon Bridges Cash Toll of $1.50 for passenger cars as an example- after all, it's the next crossings of the Hudson to the north!
The toll structure across the State has always been based on total costs along the whole system. Costs for projects in one location have never been charged solely to that location, but rather aggregated across the system as a whole. Toll rates in Buffalo, for example, are not increased solely to pay for Bridge replacements in Buffalo nor are toll rates in Syracuse increased solely to pay for bridge replacements in Syracuse. Closer to the Tappan Zee Bridge, two decades of bridge and highways projects along the New England Thruway did not increase tolls solely at the New Rochelle Toll Barrier, any more than did the Central Avenue Bridge replacement on the mainline of the Thruway in Yonkers increase tolls solely at the Yonkers toll barrier.
The Thruway is a lifeline facility for all of New York, including its largest cities. The Authority's purpose, per the Public Authorities Law, is "to operate a thruway system... for the benefit of the people of the state of New York for the increase of their pleasure, convenience and welfare, for improvement of their health, to facilitate transportation for their recreation and commerce and for the common defense...". (See the link below for the Public Authorities Law). Note the language to a "thruway system" and to all the benefits listed which would be negatively impacted by deviating from the Thruway practice of equitably distributing costs across the ENTIRE SYSTEM.
PAUL FEINER
greenburgh Town Supervisor