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For
whom the bridge tolls by Karen Keefe
An Erie County legislator and the man who wants to take her job both claimed the Grand Island bridge toll issue as their own this week; and while they are taking different lanes, they are both heading in the same direction: no tolls. Legislator Michele Iannello, D-Kenmore, Grand Island, and contractor, political activist and county legislature candidate Rus Thompson both say bridge tolls are unfair to Islanders. And they’ve each separately enlisted the help of Ellicott Development Co. CEO Carl Paladino, who was instrumental last year in removing the tolls from the Breckinridge and Ogden toll barriers on the Niagara Section of the Thruway. The Thruway also collects the Grand Island bridge fare. The question for like-minded Islanders is not who said it first, loudest or best in dueling news conferences this week; it is, “What will it take to make the trip across the bridges a free ride?” The toll is $.75 without E-ZPass, and $.09 per trip for Islanders with E-ZPass. Thompson’s 6,000 Signatures In his news conference Sunday night, Thompson stressed that he first called for eliminating the tolls eight months ago, launching the NoGITolls.com Web site and ultimately obtaining 6,000 signatures. He has also announced his intention to run for Iannello’s seat in November. Iannello’s news conference took place a day later on the same piece of Tonawanda blacktop in the shadow of the south bridges and the NOCO oil tanks. Thompson attended the legislator’s news conference.
Iannello: Toll an Insult Calling the tolls “not only an unfair tax but ... an insult to the residents of Grand Island and Western New York,” Iannello said she has taken two actions: She sent a letter to Gov. Eliot Spitzer and formed a partnership with Paladino in an effort to strengthen the cry for action in Albany to remove the tolls from the Grand Island bridges. “This public/private unified effort will send a message to Albany that Western New York is not a second cousin and will not give up its quest for equal treatment,” Iannello and Paladino said Monday in a press release. Thompson also claims a partnership with Paladino in connection with his petition drive. “The only reason the toll removal will ever happen is because of the citizen activists that have signed the petition and the involvement of Carl Paladino, doing the job that our local politicians should have been doing all along,” Thompson said in a news release. “Now, my opponent, after a year and a half in office … has decided to join our cause,” Thompson said. “Only since the governor appears to be considering this, has it suddenly become convenient for her to announce a ‘partnership’ between business and government to pressure Albany to act,” he said. “If and when the tolls are removed, all credit belongs to the petition signers, not one single individual, and surely not one single politician,” Thompson said. Iannello and Paladino said the Thruway Authority has been unfair to Western New York. “There are 936 bridges in the Thruway system maintained out of general revenue. Why are three bridges singled out for tolls?” Paladino learned through Freedom of Information requests that Grand Island bridge toll revenue for 2006 was $22 million. About half that was actually spent on maintenance of those very bridges in 2006. From that expenditure, about $4 million was spent for salaries and tollbooth maintenance. Iannello and Paladino pointed out that the state Transportation Department is reimbursed with federal highway dollars for Thruway system lane miles and keeps the money. “This is double taxation,” Iannello said. “This is just a plain insult to Western New York residents who have to waste their valuable time sitting in line to pay these tolls, not only creating congestion and traffic backups, but causing hazardous emissions. Iannello said the tolls and the tie-ups affect her personally, as well as every Western New Yorker who uses the Grand Island spans. “What an insult that I have to wait in line to pay money to go across a bridge that’s being paid for twice over.” Iannello forwarded to Spitzer copies of her previously passed Erie County Legislature resolution from May 2006, as well as a previous letter that was hand-delivered to the governor from Iannello in November 2006, both calling for toll removal. New Ground or Old? Thompson claimed Iannello’s news conference failed to break new ground. “Everything you heard today has been in my Web site for two months.” He said he met with Paladino in January to go over the FOIL request and other information pertinent to Grand Island issues. Thompson said he asked Paladino to file another Freedom of Information request on additional questions, and Iannello’s news conference was the result of Thompson’s January meeting with the Buffalo developer. The Grand Island contractor cited the traffic hazards, pollution and inconvenience the tolls pose, as well as the cost. “The quickest and easiest response right now is to remove the tolls” and bring three lanes down to two lanes of traffic, Thompson said. He added that for the cause, he welcomes both the petition signatures he has been gathering, as well as Paladino and Iannello’s input in the effort. “To be honest with you, I think we need to do everything,” he said. “The more people that sign, the more pressure, the more phone calls, the more e-mails we can send all of our legislators in Albany, the quicker this thing can get done.” Sign on the Dotted Line As far as direct cooperation between the political rivals, Iannello says she has signed Thompson’s petition – he said he has not yet seen the proof – and the beat goes on. For the political ramifications, stay tuned in November. |
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