Feiner Thought: Entire State Thruway System Should Absorb the Mounting Toll of the New Andrew Cuomo Tappan Zee Bridge. NO TOLLIZATION WITHOUT EQUALIZATION | WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER 3,374,995 VISITS IN ONE YEAR---65,000 VISITS A WEEK BY 985,281 VISITORS

WPCNR THE FEINER REPORT. Special to WPCNR by Paul Feiner, Supervisor, Town of Greenburgh. December 12, 2014:

WESTCHESTER/ROCKLAND IS PAYING FOR THRUWAY ROAD/BRIDGE IMPROVEMENTS UPSTATE….

WHY WON’T THRUWAY AUTHORITY MAKE UPSTATE PAY FOR NEW TZ BRIDGE DOWNSTATE?

UNEQUAL TREATMENT FOR UPSTATE AND DOWNSTATE…

On December 11,2014 the news media reported that tolls on the TZ bridge could increase substantially. It’s my hope that Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NYS Legislature will do for Westchester/Rockland motorists what they have recently did for motorists who reside in Staten Island.

The current automobile toll on the Verrazano Bridge for people who don’t live on Staten Island is $15, or $10.66 for cars with E-ZPass.

The toll will now be further reduced for RESIDENTS of Staten Island by the Governor to $5.50. Currently, those residents now pay a discounted toll of $6 or $6.36 , depending on how often they use the bridge. This is a 37% (5.50/15.00) reduction from the $15 toll.

When the Tappan Zee bridge is built residents of Westchester/Rockland should receive similar discounts.

In addition, the cost of the bridge should be paid for by the entire NYS Thruway system users, not only motorists who use the Tappan Zee bridge.

I don’t think this is fair! When work is done around the state on other bridges and roads the entire system pays for the work. If down state residents are going to pay for upstate bridges and road construction, upstate residents should be requiredto contribute towards the new Tappan Zee bridge construction.The other option: If upstate won’t pay for a downstate bridge, downstate shouldn’t have to pay for the almost one billion dollar capital program projects listed on the Thruway Authority website for work Under Construction or Completed in the 3 Upstate Divisions: Albany, Syracuse and Buffalo.

The state Thruway Authority is undertaking major capital improvements on bridges and roads throughout the state –new bridges, repairs, repaving, and much more. Why should downstate pay for upstate Thurway road work when upstate won’t pay for our downstate new TZ bridge?