Anyone wondering why RI Turnpike & Bridge Authority was is such dire financial straits that they needed Sakonnet tolls to subsidize their operations need only consider this debacle (link below).
There were bills to eliminate the tolls in the General Assembly, a lawsuit that could have them declared illegal, and widespread opposition that made tolls unlikely to last. Yet RITBA chose to ignore all these cautions and spent $5 million on the hope it'd work out.
Even if RITBA had their planned tolls, little of the money would go to Sakonnet maintenance, and huge sums would go to overhead. And surely the economic damage in the East Bay, and lost State revenue, would outweigh whatever funds were raised. Did this really make sense to anyone?
Brian Medeiros
Tiverton, RI
http://www.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/content/20140605-plan-nixes-sakonnet-toll-after-millions-spent.ece
There were bills to eliminate the tolls in the General Assembly, a lawsuit that could have them declared illegal, and widespread opposition that made tolls unlikely to last. Yet RITBA chose to ignore all these cautions and spent $5 million on the hope it'd work out.
Even if RITBA had their planned tolls, little of the money would go to Sakonnet maintenance, and huge sums would go to overhead. And surely the economic damage in the East Bay, and lost State revenue, would outweigh whatever funds were raised. Did this really make sense to anyone?
Brian Medeiros
Tiverton, RI
http://www.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/content/20140605-plan-nixes-sakonnet-toll-after-millions-spent.ece
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