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.

Article Excerpt:

State of New York
1220
In Assembly
January 3, 2007

Introduced by M. of A. LATIMER, PAULIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Transportation

AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to discontinuing the New Rochelle toll plaza on the New England section of the New York state thruway

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. The public authorities law is amended by adding a new section 354-a to read as follows:

S 354-A. NEW ROCHELLE TOLL PLAZA DISCONTINUED. THE AUTHORITY SHALL DISCONTINUE AND REMOVE THE NEW ROCHELLE TOLL PLAZA ON THE NEW ENGLAND SECTION OF THE NEW YORK STATE THRUWAY.

S 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law.