Well, so much for foreign relations

[debgeisler]

During the presidential election campaign of Michael Dukakis, a local Boston comedian claimed that "Dukakis thinks 'foreign relations' means 'area code 413.'"

But it doesn't look like governor-elect Duval Patrick is going to endear himself to residents of 413dia, as he indicated that he opposes the Mass Turnpike toll removal.

According to the Boston Globe online, Patrick opposes the loss of the $114 million in revenue generated by tolls from 128 (Boston's inner beltway-ish highway) through Springfield, Mass.

I'll confess to finding the idea that the Massachusetts state coffers would have to fork over the money to make payments on the Pike bonds distressing.

On the other hand, if the Turnpike Authority would just bag the FastLane discounts on the tunnels, we'd get $12.2 million of that back.

On the other other hand, I still rather loathe the Turnpike Authority on general principles.

Oh, dissonance!

Comments

[thatcrazycajun.livejournal.com]

By my count, that means you have at least three hands. Mutate much? :-)

[debgeisler.livejournal.com]

Mutate much?

Not nearly often enough. :-)

[liscarey.livejournal.com]

Oh, they want to bag the Fastlane discounts, too. But note that that wouldn't come close to paying the cost of the lost revenue--even if you ignore the cost of removing the tollbooths, and the cost of ramp improvements to handle the increased traffic, and pretend that maintenance costs wouldn't increase, with all the increased traffic. Even after eliminating the Fastlane discount (and assuming that had no negative impact on pike usage, so that you actually get the full amount projected), tolls in the 128 & east section of the road would have to rise substantially.

They want the metro and metro-west commuters to pay for the upkeep and maintenance of the turnpike west of Route 128, as well as east.

And, frankly, I'm sick of the whiny babies in the western part of the state, whose math skills are too poor to allow them to figure out that the residents of Greater Boston are subsidizing them, and have been for decades.

[dalesql.livejournal.com]

The turnpike was supposed to pay off the construction bonds with the tolls, and once those were cleared, the whole thing, lock, stock and roadway, gets turned over to the state highway department. Then it gets treated, and paid for, just like all the rest of the state highways. (In theory, all paid for by motor fuel taxes. You are saving your turnpike recipts and turning them in for your refund of your fuel taxes? If you are a daily commuter on the pike, it adds up nicely. )

What we got was a political patronage swamp for the demorats, and lots of nice tax free bonds for the repulsivcans, and the highest cost of maintanance per square foot of any highway in the state. Plopping the big dig depts into the Turnpike Authority means they don't have to intentionally be the most wasteful government agency in the state to keep the debt load high anymore.

Hence the investigation a few months ago that they suddenly noticed that the turnpike was paying for gold plated road work, and was, in fact, getting brass plated pot metal grade work. Surprise! . . . not.

Oh well. Sometimes one wishes for the old days of riding the crooked politcians out on rail, after tarring and feathering them.

[jenwrites.livejournal.com]

Actually, he's dissing 508 more than 413 with that plan.

[liscarey.livejournal.com]

Right. 413 is already paying nothing for the upkeep of their portion of the Mass. Pike.

[jenwrites.livejournal.com]

Of course, only the affluent parts of 413 have no tolls. Springfield? Still has tolls (although not if you go west rather than east). As a former Springfielder, I find that grossly unfair.

[sfrose.livejournal.com]

I still think that there is something backwards about plans to lower commuting costs for driving into Boston, while raising the rates for using the T (or commuter rail or parking lots for taking public transportation.)

[liscarey.livejournal.com]

They have to keep raising the cost and reducing the service on the T and the commuter rail; otherwise people might think public transportation was a good idea or something.

I entertain hopes that Deval Patrick may actually believe in public transportation, rather than regarding it as a communist plot. Unfortunately, even if he does, he's first going to have to get real control of agencies loaded up with more than a decade's worth of anti-public-transit appointees.

[jenwrites.livejournal.com]

I also find it incredibly unfair that the T discounts only apply to people affluent enough to have computer access and credit cards. If you need to pay a person with cash, you pay the more expensive fare. Way to screw the poor.

[liscarey.livejournal.com]

The purpose is to discourage the use of public transportation. Plain and simple, no ambiguity; they don't even really bother to hide it.