ORT Coming to Massachusetts?

[SidS1045]

Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts is in favor of eliminating cash collections on all state toll facilities.

http://www.wcvb.com/news/local/metro/Patrick-looks-to-get-rid-of-toll-collectors/-/11971628/17715172/-/cjudncz/-/index.html

[MVHighways]

I HEARD ON THE NEWS THIS MORNING! As for the Tobin Bridge toll I think they should put that with the bridge supports if they can. I hope this works

I hope they said 2015, because it would be weird for them to take THAT long. They completed ORT in Hampton, NH on I-95 in a year or less.

[SidS1045]

I hope they said 2015, because it would be weird for them to take THAT long. They completed ORT in Hampton, NH on I-95 in a year or less.

The Hampton tolls are one location.  The Massachusetts Turnpike, Ted Williams and Sumner tunnels and the Logan Airport parking garages are about 30 locations, more or less.  I'd be very surprised if it's done that quickly, especially given the number of state employees who will be laid off and who will raise unholy hell with the pols who got them their jobs.

[KEVIN_224]

Also, the ORT in Hampton, NH is merely the high speed section in the middle, not the entire toll plaza. Two lanes in each direction, I do believe.

[BamaZeus]

I'm pretty sure that stemmed from all the toll-takers taking the same day off (I think it was Easter Friday), causing miles and miles of backups on the Turnpike

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/04/new_turnpike_po.html

[SidS1045]

I'm pretty sure that stemmed from all the toll-takers taking the same day off (I think it was Easter Friday), causing miles and miles of backups on the Turnpike

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/04/new_turnpike_po.html

Maybe in part, but backups on the Pike are nothing new, especially on holidays and especially at Exit 9 (I-84/US-20).  For a while the policy was to wave everyone through without paying if traffic was backed up onto the mainline of the Pike, but that didn't last long.  On or right before some holidays, particularly the day before Thanksgiving, the backups from Exit 9 can stretch back 20+ miles, and simply waving drivers through the toll booths won't even make a dent in that kind of traffic volume.

[Beeper1]

Didn't Deval have a plan to eliminate tolls on the main part of the turnpike except the Exit 1 (NY border) and exit 9 (I-84) tolls? 

Then again, every gov of the last 25 years has had a plan to eliminate some of the Pike tolls and it has never happened and probably never will. 

This ORT plan sounds great, but I wouldn't hold my breath on this ever actually happening.

[jeffandnicole]

Didn't Deval have a plan to eliminate tolls on the main part of the turnpike except the Exit 1 (NY border) and exit 9 (I-84) tolls? 

Then again, every gov of the last 25 years has had a plan to eliminate some of the Pike tolls and it has never happened and probably never will. 

This ORT plan sounds great, but I wouldn't hold my breath on this ever actually happening.

It'll happen...just part of advancements of technology.  The same people that are fighting using electronic tolling methods because of privacy reasons are the same once that are shouting their credit card numbers into their GPS-enabled phones while in public ordering Christmas gifts.

[PHLBOS]

backups on the Pike are nothing new, especially on holidays and especially at Exit 9 (I-84/US-20).  For a while the policy was to wave everyone through without paying if traffic was backed up onto the mainline of the Pike, but that didn't last long.  On or right before some holidays, particularly the day before Thanksgiving, the backups from Exit 9 can stretch back 20+ miles, and simply waving drivers through the toll booths won't even make a dent in that kind of traffic volume.

The waving through the toll booths (and not just at Exit 9/Sturbridge) during peak holiday travel times ended when Fast Lane (now EZPass) debuted.

Didn't Deval have a plan to eliminate tolls on the main part of the turnpike except the Exit 1 (NY border) and exit 9 (I-84) tolls?

LOL, elimination of tolls and Deval Patrick (or any Massachusetts Democrat for that matter) don't mix.

It was the Weld Administration that dropped the tolls between Exits 1 & 6 (the booths are still there but no tolls are charged for travel between those exits) and eliminated tolls from Exit 17 (Newton/Watertown) westbound Exit 16 (Route 16) during the 90s.

Sometime during the 2000s (likely during the Romney Administration), there was a referendum on the ballot to eliminate the Pike tolls west of Weston (Exit 14-15, I-95/MA 128) but it was sadly defeated likely due to either the complex wording of the ballot question or the referendum involved voting 'yes' on one ballot question plus 'no' for another.  Any other combo (yes-yes, no-no or no-yes) defeated the de-tolling initiative.

Then again, every gov of the last 25 years has had a plan to eliminate some of the Pike tolls and it has never happened and probably never will.

Not completely true.  Here's a rundown of the which governor would've likely supported eliminating the Pike tolls from Exit 1 to 14-15 since 1987:

1987-1991 Dukakis (against)
One talk-show host at the time (WRKO's Jerry Williams) stated that Gov. Dukakis wanted to give Eternal Life to the Mass Pike tolls and the Turnpike Authority.

1991-1999 Weld (supported)
Tolls were eliminated from Exits 1 to 6 and the toll booths at Exit 17 16 (westbound) were dismantled.

1999-2001 Cellucci (supported)

2001-2003 Swift (against)
She even fired 2 Turnpike officials (who were later reinstated, one of them Christy Mihos ran for governor in 2002 as a 3rd-party (thereby handing the seat over to Deval Patrick)) that went against her plans to increase Turnpike, bridge & tunnel tolls

2003-2007 Romney (supported)
Referendum to eliminate Pike tolls west of Exit 14-15 appeared on the ballot in the form of 2 questions but was defeated.

2007-current Patrick (against)

All of the above is moot anyways, because the state legislative branch has been under one-party control (Democrat) since at least the 1970s.  They're likely going to have a say whether tolls remain or not.

Even if a referendum to elimnate tolls was passed; as many saw with the death penalty circa 1982 (passed on the ballot, signed into law by out-going Gov. Ed King but later thrown out by incoming Gov. Mike Dukakis), Gov. Patrick and his collegues in both the state House and/or state Senate will find some way to either delay its implementation or completely throw it out.

For Pike tolls to be eliminated, one needs a major regime change in the Bay State.  Given the fact that the voters elected a 'fake' Indian to the US Senate over a moderate GOP incumbent; I don't see that happening in my lifetime.

[SidS1045]

LOL, elimination of tolls and Deval Patrick (or any Massachusetts Democrat for that matter) don't mix.

I have a feeling no Massachusetts pol would really want them gone.  When you get down to it, the revenue stream they provide is too tempting to pass up.

[vdeane]

How were there tolls at exit 17?  I can find no evidence in the satellite imagery to suggest that there were ever booths there, and unless the interchange is in a completely new configuration now than it was a couple decades ago, there's no room either.  I did find evidence of a single booth at exit 16 though.

[KEVIN_224]

The toll booth removed was at Exit 16 from I-90 West in Newton for MA Route 16 (close to MM 125).

[PHLBOS]

How were there tolls at exit 17?  I can find no evidence in the satellite imagery to suggest that there were ever booths there, and unless the interchange is in a completely new configuration now than it was a couple decades ago, there's no room either.  I did find evidence of a single booth at exit 16 though.

My mistake, I meant to say westbound Exit 16 and have since corrected my earlier post.

The toll booth removed was at Exit 16 from I-90 West in Newton for MA Route 16 (close to MM 125).

What he said. 

LOL, elimination of tolls and Deval Patrick (or any Massachusetts Democrat for that matter) don't mix.

I have a feeling no Massachusetts pol would really want them gone.  When you get down to it, the revenue stream they provide is too tempting to pass up.

You obviously missed the rest of my post.  The mere fact that the toll rates were dropped from Exit 1 through 6 stretch and the toll plaza at westbound Exit 16 was torn down gave Bay Staters some hope of toll reprieve.  Remember the bonds that built the original Mass Pike (Exits 1-14) were paid off (through tolls) by 1984.

The only GOP Governor I listed that wasn't for any type of toll relief or elimination was RINO (or more accurately, RINO 9/11) Jane Swift who was originally a Democrat prior to becoming a state rep.  Cellucci wasn't governor long enough to even ponder/move on such action because he was busy campaigning/supporting for Bush 43 in 2000; an initiative that paid off for him but left Bay Staters w/'Swifty' (his then-Lt. Gov.).

That said, as long as Bay Stater voters (as a whole) keep electing/re-electing Democrats on all levels & offices; nothing's going to really change in terms of toll relief.

[roadman]

The toll booth removed was at Exit 16 from I-90 West in Newton for MA Route 16 (close to MM 125).

There was also a toll booth on the ramp entering the Pike extension eastbound from MA 16 that was removed at the same time as the booth on the westbound exit ramp was.   Removal of the toll booths at this location was apparently sparked by an incident involving then Turnpike Chairman Kerasiotes (sic?).  The story goes that the Chairman pulled up to the toll booth at 2 or 3 AM one morning and found the toll taker to be fast asleep.  Within two months of that incident, the eastbound toll plaza was removed, and the westbound one was removed shortly thereafter.

[SidS1045]

You obviously missed the rest of my post.  The mere fact that the toll rates were dropped from Exit 1 through 6 stretch and the toll plaza at westbound Exit 16 was torn down gave Bay Staters some hope of toll reprieve.  Remember the bonds that built the original Mass Pike (Exits 1-14) were paid off (through tolls) by 1984.

No, I didn't miss it at all.  I've lived in MA just about all my life, and I've seen the pols come and go.  They're not really all that different from each other, regardless of what party letter comes after their name.  They can pay all the lip service they want to toll elimination, but none of them have delivered on it (with the two minor exceptions noted).  Until now, a large part of the reason why is the politically-connected job of toll collector.  It's the best known "secret" in state government that to get that job you have to "know" someone.

Toll elimination will, however, be much easier to accomplish once those 410 jobs don't exist.

[PHLBOS]

No, I didn't miss it at all.  I've lived in MA just about all my life, and I've seen the pols come and go.

With all due respect,  I was born in Lynn, MA and was a Bay State resident for the first 24 years of my life and the rest of my family are either life-long Massachusetts residents or lived there a long time.  So you're not debating with a complete outsider here.

They're not really all that different from each other, regardless of what party letter comes after their name.  They can pay all the lip service they want to toll elimination, but none of them have delivered on it (with the two minor exceptions noted).

If there was an actual balance of power, something that has been blatantly absent since the late 60s/early 70s if not earlier, in the state; and the same outcome occurred, I would agree with you.  But that's certainly not the case here.  I'm not saying the GOP is perfect here (only God is perfect); but the current political make-up and toll situation is indeed the result of recycling the same status-quo politicians and/or ideals for decades... and I'm not just referring to the Governor's mansion here.  I'm sure there are some state legislators that were in office when I moved to PA in 1990 that are still there.

Until now, a large part of the reason why is the politically-connected job of toll collector.  It's the best known "secret" in state government that to get that job you have to "know" someone.

Toll elimination will, however, be much easier to accomplish once those 410 jobs don't exist.

I'm well aware of that too.  Boston Herald columnist and radio talk-show host Howie Carr targets these "Hacks" every so often.  And Massachusetts isn't the only state that has that type of problem.

[Interstatefan78]

This would require E-Z pass to pay airport parking, but Massachusetts users lack the E-Z Pass plus program and this allows NY/NJ users to pay parking with E-Z pass at JFK,EWR, and LGA aiports, so massachusetts should look at the Newark,NJ  E-Z Pass airport parking payment if they want to go AET on toll roads and Boston Logan airport parking.