Merrimack Toll Revolt Day

[Rosie the Riveter]

Merrimack calls for toll revolt

By JIM KOZUBEK
New Hampshire Union Leader Correspondent
6 hours, 15 minutes ago

MERRIMACK – An initiative by Executive Councilor Debora Pignatelli to give residents in the 03054 ZIP code two free passes daily through the E-ZPass toll system is going nowhere, and the town is calling for a day of revolt.

The town council last night voted unanimously to declare Monday, Aug. 27, Merrimack Toll Revolt Day; all residents are asked to throw only pennies in the tolls on that day.

Anti-toll campaigners backed the Pignatelli strategy this spring after years of trying to win support for toll reform in the 400-member House. The House can add or remove tollbooths, or call for systemic changes such as uniformity of pricing among tollbooths, while the Executive Council has traditionally governed toll rates and discounts.

Pignatelli learned from Gov. John Lynch's legal counsel last week, however, that the House had passed legislation to strip the Executive Council of its power to regulate toll rates and discounts in 2005.

"New laws have been passed by legislators that stop our ability to give discounts, and this power grab by the Legislature is disheartening," she said.

Council Chairman David McCray promptly called for a day of revolt.

"You people in Concord," he said. "You son of a gun. I am going to Sovereign Bank to get myself a roll of pennies."

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[JonM]

Well nothing gets you a ticket in the mail

How about tokens?  Anyone got a few hundred extra?

[error]

I'm always shocked when I come to a place where the tolls are set up the way they are here.

The Indiana Toll Road, which is now partly privatized, uses a distance-based method of tolling. When you enter the toll road, you take a ticket which corresponds to the place you entered the road, and when you exit, you present the ticket at the tollbooth, of which there is one at every exit. You then pay based on the distance traveled. Everyone seems to agree this is fair, even if they grouse about having to pay a toll at all.

[Ruger Mason]

Why should Merrimackers get to use the road for free, when they can easily use DW to get to local destinations?  Route 3 was built as a highway for travel over longer distances, primarily for tourists and commuters, not as a local road.  That Merrimack residents find it convenient is not my problem.  Maybe residents of Nashua, Manchester and Bedford should all get two free passes too!

I'm sorry, but I can't get behind this "revolt" that would simply shift the cost of maintaining the highway to other state residents.

I say make 93, 293 and 101 into toll roads too, and then it would all be "fair".

[Rosie the Riveter]

My understanding of it is that the tolls in question were set up on the exits/entrances in Merrimack to pay for the exits/entrances. The town was told by the state that when the cost of the exits/entrances was paid off (I think 10 years) the tolls would be removed. Of course the tolls were never removed...

and you don't have to pay to get on or off rt. 3 in Nashua.... so hummm...

Hence Toll Revolt Day....

[Rosie the Riveter]

"You people in Concord," he said. "You son of a gun. I am going to Sovereign Bank to get myself a roll of pennies."

I LOVE IT!!!! Hahahah!! I love it!

BUT, they shouldn't even throw pennies in the buckets, they should throw nothing in, instead. NOTHING!

I agree with you RattyDog... I was very pleased to read that the town has decided to stand up to the state in even this small way.

[Ruger Mason]

The town was told by the state that when the cost of the exits/entrances was paid off (I think 10 years) the tolls would be removed. Of course the tolls were never removed...

I'm not sure what they were told matters much -- was something taken from the taxpayers of Merrimack to build the road?  Do Merrimack residents have some special claim to that road, such that would justify their free use of it?  If Merrimack residents are such heavy users of it, they should pay their share.

[41mag]

I remember Gardner mentioning that these tolls were only a temporary  measure to pay for the road.  Once it was paid for they were supposed to take them down.

[Rochelle]

You know, I'm for the tolls on the highways, but I'm against the current placement of the tolls.

We should only have tolls along the border with Massachusetts and other states that have interstate crossings.

Think about it. People from neighboring states come to NH, using our roads, for tax free shopping. So they use our roads and contribute to some serious traffic jams on southbound I-93 every Sunday evening . It would be impractical to have a sales tax for out of staters (though I've thought about it ), so instead, just put tolls on 293 near the Mass. border, so they can pay for the roads, while driving in state would be free . Put another toll on 93 near the border. Driving instate would be free, but could pay for the expansion of 93. And you wouldn't have to say it would be temporary because it wouldn't have to be. It would be a user fee, for those who use it.

[Dave Ridley]

i will probably schedule a demonstration at one of the exits, opposing the state.

[dalebert]

Think about it. People from neighboring states come to NH, using our roads, for tax free shopping.

Don't do that! It's wonderful that they come over here and pump out-of-state money into our economy. That's one of the reasons the lack of sales tax is so nice. If anything, let's encourage more of that.

[Fluff and Stuff]

Think about it. People from neighboring states come to NH, using our roads, for tax free shopping.

You are right, they use the roads.  Of course, NH has the lowest gas prices in the Northeast (along with NJ) so they also buy gas.  The buy cigs, drinks, and eat at places too and the state makes a ton of money off those things.  Plus with the tolls they already pay.  Let's face it, if the ton of out of staters did not come to NH so often, the locals would have to pay more for road repairs and more taxes overall.  Not only are out of staters a huge boon the the economy, but they go along way to helping fund the NH government.

[Ruger Mason]

Placing the tolls at the NH-Mass line might discourage people from traveling up here to shop.

The thing is, this issue is a zero sum game.  If Merrimack toll road users win by being awarded lower tolls, other people lose because they now have to make up the shortfall in the form of higher tolls or higher taxes.  This is a double insult since I suspect that these whining Merrimackers are in fact heavy users of Route 3, and contribute disproportionately to its wear and tear.

Those who support this issue seem to be advocating, not liberty, but some form of wealth redistribution in the favor of the inhabitants a peculiar geography on the Merrimack River's west bank.

The only real solution to this particular ill is, of course, is to let the market determine the optimal locations of toll booths by privatizing Route 3.  Short of that, energy ought to be spent on some other issue.

[dalebert]

But if they said they needed tolls for X number of years to pay for the road and that has passed, that means this is just going into some more general revenue. That means the tolls aren't going particular toward that road. Anyone know where it's going? This happened here in GA too. They have a toll road and it was supposed to only collect the toll for a few years to pay for itself and of course once they have a source of revenue, they don't want to give it up.

[J’raxis 270145]

You know, I'm for the tolls on the highways, but I'm against the current placement of the tolls.

We should only have tolls along the border with Massachusetts and other states that have interstate crossings.

Think about it. People from neighboring states come to NH, using our roads, for tax free shopping. So they use our roads and contribute to some serious traffic jams on southbound I-93 every Sunday evening . It would be impractical to have a sales tax for out of staters (though I've thought about it ), so instead, just put tolls on 293 near the Mass. border, so they can pay for the roads, while driving in state would be free . Put another toll on 93 near the border. Driving instate would be free, but could pay for the expansion of 93. And you wouldn't have to say it would be temporary because it wouldn't have to be. It would be a user fee, for those who use it.

The prohibitions against states levying taxes or duties on each other's citizens in Article I, Section IX of the Constitution would also probably be interpreted to prevent this.