Toll House Talk

Welcome to Joe's Country

There have been many proposals for dealing with the cataclysmic traffic volume and road conditions on the BQE. The one that is actually easiest to implement and most likely to have an immediate impact, at least on the volume, is charging tolls. The argument for tolls is made in this post on Streetblogs.org, to wit, tolls on the BQE and Gowanus expressways would reduce traffic, as drivers opt for another route or not to drive at all, and thus diminish the need for maintenance. "A free road for drivers is also an expensive road for taxpayers." Plus tolls bring revenue that could be used for repair or new projects.

Your correspondent has long been an advocate for tolls--on aesthetic rather than fiscal grounds. I led the unsuccessful Restore All Tolls movement in Connecticut after those beautiful shingle-roofed Merritt Parkway toll houses were eliminated in 1988. Where were the highway architeture preservationists?! You can still visit one such toll house, though not drive through it, in (yes!) Boothe Park in Stamford. A fine model for the new BQE toll houses, I'd say. So start saving the nickels and dimes. If we raise enough from the new BQE tolls, maybe we can build the Brodsky Bridge after all!