Candidates For Governor Weigh In On Malloy Toll Study

The state Bond Commission on Wednesday approved a $10 million study on the viability of electronic tolls for Connecticut, pushed by Governor Dan Malloy. Some gubernatorial candidates argue it’s a waste of money, or should have happened sooner, considering the amount of time the issue has already been debated in the state legislature.

Democrat Ned Lamont:

“This study is a wasteful way to reinvent the wheel. In 2009, OPM conducted a very similar study. Given our financial challenges, we need to instead be investing in solutions, not studies. We already know our roads are congested, our infrastructure improvements are underfunded, and Connecticut residents have paid the bill for far too long. What we need is a responsible and fair way to fund transportation improvement projects. That’s why, if elected, I would utilize existing data to determine how much revenue Connecticut can generate from tolling the out-of-state trucks that are damaging our roads at taxpayer expense.”

Democrat Joe Ganim:

“Information is a good thing, and that is the goal of this study. Tolls are controversial, but the electronic tolls of today are vastly different from traffic jam causing toll gates of many years ago. Connecticut is the only state on the eastern seaboard not to have some kind of tolls, and we see that our special transportation fund is nearly insolvent, and our roads and bridges are falling apart and are not at the capacity we need. This is unacceptable and a drag on our cities and our economy. We need a consistent revenue source to fund our infrastructure, and we are one of the most traveled-through states in the northeastern part of this country. Yet we don’t charge out of state drivers who wear down our roads a dime. That is wrong. By implementing tolls in the right way and charging more to out of state motorists, we could raise more than $800 million a year to make a badly needed improvements to roads, bridges, and enhance rail services. We should have implemented a study like this years ago, but I support moving forward with it to make the most informed legislative decision on this critical issue by next year.”

Republican David Stemerman:

“Today’s vote, and frankly the entire debate over tolls, highlights the failed leadership of Dan Malloy and the Democrats who have run the Transportation Trust fund and our state’s infrastructure into the ground. It’s outrageous that their only answer to failed government leadership is to raise taxes on Connecticut commuters who are already over-burdened and fleeing the state in droves.

“I do not accept this proposition and do not support this latest waste of taxpayer money. We have some of most congested roads in country and trains that are slower than in 1970 and that is because career politicians in Hartford are stuck in ideas of the past, while citizens are stuck in traffic.

“I’m the only candidate in this race who has introduced a detailed plan that will attract billions of dollars in private investment to get our congested highways flowing again, cut train travel times to New York City down by as much as half and build our airports into major regional hubs for passengers and cargo. We need real, outside-the-box leadership in our state–and not more taxes.”