New York Assembly Approves Toll Elimination Bill

Article: New York Assembly Approves Toll Elimination Bill

The New York State Assembly moved on Monday last week to eliminate a toll booth from Interstate 95. Members voted 87 to 47 to abolish the collection of tolls at the New Rochelle toll plaza on the New York State Thruway. Motorists on this stretch of I-95 currently most stop and pay $1.50 or use E-ZPass, and the toll is scheduled to rise to $1.75 next year. State Assemblyman George S. Latimer (D-Westchester) introduced the idea of stopping the tolls because they imposed unfair burdens on his constituents.

"Daily commuters from Westchester, the Bronx and Manhattan pay a disproportionate fee to use this section of the Thruway, compared to every other corridor across the state," Latimer wrote in support of his legislation. "Further, the presence of this toll plaza serves to direct northbound traffic onto local roads, particularly U. S. 1 (Boston Post Road), through the developed corridors of New Rochelle, Larchmont and Mamaroneck, adding to local congestion and air pollution."

Drivers in the cities and towns surrounding the tolled section of road face paying the full toll at the plaza when taking local trips of as little as two miles. The long backups at the plaza during morning and evening commutes also adds to air and noise pollution concerns in the area, according to Latimer. Although the legislation has passed in previous sessions, it has run into trouble in the Senate where it must be approved before becoming law.

The assembly is also considering A10299, legislation introduced in March to eliminate the Yonkers toll plaza. More