Joe: Thank you very much for writing this. As you know, the Portsmouth Business Association is involved in the effort to stop the tolls on the Sakonnet River Bridge. We hosted a breakfast with several state level elected officials and the Director of Transportation. We had a good exchange of information. We are planning a second breakfast. We encourage businesses in Portsmouth who are not members of the PBA to join to give us a stronger voice in our effort. They can contact me at 682-2007 or email me at pbamc02871@cs.com.

Secondly, there is an organization called STOP = Sakonnet Tolls Opposition Panel which is an organization made up of representatives from 15 other local organizations throughout the East Bay. This organization is the coordinating group for a number of activities to oppose the tolls. One of the activities is a fundraiser at the Sportsman's Club on October 26th. Members of STOP have been attending RITBA meetings and communicating with DOT and the representatives from the Federal Highway Administration. Any group wishing to assist in our efforts and would like to join STOP may call me at 682-2007.

Thirdly, folks in Tiverton have formed TivertonSTOP. They can be reached at tivertonSTOP@gmail.com. They are highly organized with several subcommittees such as media, information, letter writing, solutions and more. There is a good article on Tiverton Patch about this group. Any individual wishing to join the effort to oppose the tolls may contact them at their email address. Anyone with questions about local efforts to oppose the tolls may call me at 682-2007. Thank you again for writing this piece.

I agree 100% with these guys, i'm just the petition dude but i will say if these new tolls are put in place at any amount, that before you see new tolls if ever places on the West Bay you WILL see a rise in the amount of tolls we were paying, This cannot be allowed at all, just a little bitty toll at all will be like a little pregnant or a little dead call your reps and ask him or her what the hell they were thinking voting for this, IT CANNOT STAND, NO TOLLS

This Article Is Great. I Wish The RIBTA Would Take One Of Those Easy Pass Transponders And Shove It Up Their A.

S.T.O.P., the Sakonnet Toll Opposition Panel, is holding a fundraiser this Friday, October 26th, at 7pm at the Seaconnet Sportsmans Club, 145 Sakonnet Drive in Portsmouth. Join S.T.O.P, for great food, drink, and music, and the opportunity to meet with local legislators who are working to repeal the plan to place a toll on the SRB. Donation: $20 (only a few trips through the proposed tolls!) For more information contact Jeanne at notolljeanne@cox.net or 401-662-2029.

Mr Robicheau,
You have diagnosed the problem.
What SOLUTION do you propose?
George Kassis

All of the attempts supposedly for the opposition for the bridge appear to be self serving marketing opportunities for small business. It's a great excuse to all get together, pass out business cards, and discuss nothing. Why nothing? Because these tolls are coming. I have not seen one person or group truly stand above the crowd and market the opposition. S.T.O.P. - what kind of acrynomn is that, totally confusing. As George states above, what solution is there. huge amount of talk, low marketing, lower solutions. My solution - have a toll, the bridge stays up.

While I agree with all that is written, I have to ask why all the fuss? Chaffee told us he was going to raise taxes and impose tolls before he was elected, and he was still elected.

Politicians never consider how much it costs to run toll booths, not to mention building them. Would they be more union positions? Pensions for life? Overtime, traffic backups etc. The cons out weigh the pros. Tolls are a shake down, you got it right Joe! All tolls have people that just drive thru without paying.

From Portsmouth. I will be brief here.

1. DOT/RITBA estimate it would take $12-15 million a year to maintain the four bridges to the island.

2. DOT has been underfunded for decades.

3. The two bridges under RITBA are not eligible for federal funds. Consider moving them to DOT.

4 RI gets roughly $42 million a year in license and tag fees that go to the RI General Fund. Give half of this to DOT to specifically maintain the four bridges.

5. RITBA numbers from their website show annual income of $18 million. $3.1 million goes to salary/benefits of RITBA employees. $2.5 million go to administrative expenses. A course of action would be to give the four bridges to DOT with the $18 million from the Pell Bridge along with some general fund money. The legislators could draft language that these funds must be used to maintain the four bridges.

6. Using the old Mass Prop 2-1/2 methodology, and given an $8.8 billion state budget, take 0.5% of the state budget and give it to DOT. That is $44 million.

7. It is my understanding that six state departments were overspent by $32 million last budget cycle. I understand there are unforeseen circumstances. However, we need better accountability at the state level. The status quo needs to be changed. The state government needs to put thrift measures in place instead of creating more taxes, fees and tolls to cover those who go over budget.

8. Is state government completely effective and efficient without any waste? Not likely. It is time to change the status quo. This state could take bold, new measures and be the first to implement new policies to fix this problem in house, make government more frugal, and reduce taxes, fees and tolls on the residents. The legislators that put these measures into place would likely be seen as visionaries and arguably improve their chances at re-election.

Not sure of the demographics in the Newport County area so I had a question for the author and/or anyone with knowledge on this..do the commuters coming onto the Newport County area make a greater percentage than commuters leaving the area..?business work etc and I realize there are some of both but curious as to which is greater.

Its seems as if everyone from Bristol or Portsmouth using the Mt. Hope Bridge is quite happy to have those who use the Pell Bridge in Newport pay the bill - or pick up the bill for traveling over the Sakkonet Bridge as well.

But the larger issue is all about state (or local, for that matter) spending. As long as it's hidden, taxpayers don't get too upset. But once a specific tax is tied to a specific service, taxpayers' political acuity gets very good.

Maybe our legislature could require that tax payments to government from service providers be broken out on customer bills. But then we might lose a convenient way for government to continue funding itself. Quietly.

All that being said, my impression is that the RITBA - which operates these bridges - is pretty well run, with few excessive expenses. And it is certainly a lot easier to figure our where the money is going at RITBA than by poring over the state's budgets!

$8 billion/1 million residents = $8000 per person in our RI budget (close enough). Somewhere in there we should be able to find a compromise for local residents to pay a discounted toll rate for the shared benefit that islanders receive for access/egress and that which the state receives for allowing practical interstate commerce (taxable reveune) to and fro. J. Harker

RI discounts are in place, and there are options as long as you have EZ-Pass. Here are the discounted rates posted by RITBA on its website:

Resident (RIR)
$.83 per trip
Available to Rhode Island residents only. Must show proof of residency for discount plan to be applied.

Unlimited (RIUNL)
$40.00 every 30 days
Unlimited travel on the Newport/Pell Bridge only. This plan is automatically renewed every 30 days, and is specific to each transponder.

Frequent User (RI6TRIP)
$5.46 for 6 crossings in a 30-day period
This plan is automatically renewed every 30 days or upon the completion of 6 trips in the cycle. Any unused trips will be charged at the end of the cycle.

At just under $1.00 per crossing, some might venture that these discounts are not all that exciting to our fellow citizens contending with high frequency use.

TOLLS! THIEFS? 875 new signature on the island today, would have been over a thousand if the petition wasn't stolen, can i prove this? NO!! It just happen that 4 stops in Portsmouth and 2 in Middletown, All in a row had them just vanish is an accident, I never pick up the petition without leaving more, NEVER, but 6 stops in a row someone just removed them

Naome lixes, I don't use the Iway? wheres the toll to pay for that?

Dang I've been driving all the way to Providence over through Fall River and across the Sakonnet River Bridge to Newport just to avoid the Newport Bridge toll. Now what? I know the Mt. Hope!!! Pay more in gax tax or pay Gov. Linc his troll toll. Either way they got you coming and going (literally).

NO TOLL is the only answer!why not place it up on rt 6 going to Chepatcet? I drive it to go to gunshops and Cabelas in Conn, alot they need the Dot and road repairs but they like US are part of RHODE ISLAND, just like us they should not have to pay for the DOT failures, so why are we being asked to? sorry East side toll now Toll for ever DOT breakdown Rise in tolls, Fix the GA save This state, It.s getting down to brass tacks and we are being reated like chumps

Chuck, I do not agree with the Newport Bridge Toll either but you do understand the Newport Bridge from the beginning was built with bonds for the RITBA and owned by same. The Sakonnet was federal and state money (from taxes) payed by all of us.

Brian , head of CURB?T! thank you for once again nothing at all, Thats why you never own what you say

Brian Mederble comes straight from CURB?T1 and you just talk of me when he makes stupid remarks about folks stealing petitions and i'm the sad one?Nice try !go back to the Tiverton site will you, I'm, we us everyone but the nameless guys you stand up for are trying to help each other, go attack me on Tiverton Patch, Don't take the time for nameles cowards to attack me on this TOLLS site

Mr Robicheau, as I have posted previously, I strongly urge you and your counterparts in Tiverton and Little Compton (both Democrat and Republican) to explore the possibility of filing a class-action lawsuit against the State to block the tolls ... on the grounds of unequal taxation; i.e. the citizens of Newport County are the only group in the state being directly taxed for highway improvements.

It is, in fact, a 'taxation without representation' ... we are being taxed simply because we lack sufficient votes in the General Assembly to block such actions. Hypothetically, there is nothing stopping the gangsters in the General Assembly from deciding that Newport County is 'rich'; therefore, we should pay a 10% sales tax while everyone in Central Falls and Woonsocket is underprivileged so they should only pay a 2% tax ... we're talking apples to apples here.

Another example of unequal taxation - the endless saga of the Barrington River bridge. The DOT’s original bid for the work projected a completion date of Sept. 2006 and a price tag of $10.4 million; the bridge didn't open until just a few weeks ago and price rose to $22-23 million. Why is everyone in the state sharing that cost? Why wasn't a tollbooth considered to pay for the Barrington Bridge ... isn't Barrington as 'rich' as we are in Newport County??

The towns of Tiverton, Little Compton and Portsmouth should pool their legal resources and fire a very loud salvo at the General Assembly and the Governor.

S.T.O.P. TOLL FUNDRAISER
OCTOBER 26TH SEACONNET SPORTSMANS CLUB
JOIN US TO MEET WITH OUR REPS AND SENATORS
EAT, DRINK, MUSIC, RAFFLES
TICKETS $20.00
REPLY TO notolljeanne@cox.net
or 662-2029

The proposed tolls on the Sakonnet River Bridge will in fact have a Significant Major Impact on our local residence and businesses! State officials are reportedly anticipating the total annual revenue from these tolls will be upwards of $35 million dollars. This is a $35 million dollar Special Tax on the approximately 40,000 local residence who must use this Bridge on a regular basis. Local residence will in fact pay the lions share of these tolls and even if you do not travel over this Bridge frequently you will pay other indirect costs. All of the businesses that provide the goods and services to our area will be hit with substantial additional cost as a result of this toll, which they must pass on to their customers. Commercial vehicles will pay a hefty toll to travel over this Bridge ($20 a trip for a large truck). Literally all of the goods that we purchace are delivered to our area by truck. Many local businesses will be hit with tens of thousands of $ dollars in additional transportation or delivery costs! Simply put, these tolls will cost the average local family between $1500 and $2500 a year and the impact on local businesses will be very substantial due to multiple factors.This proposed toll is unjust and it was with reckless disregard for the wellbeing of our local residence and businesses that the governor proposed this toll during the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression, on a bridge that historically has never had any toll.

I agree that maybe a toll on the sakonnett bridge but we should have some tolls on 95. Maybe give certain speed passes to those residents who live in the state to get a large discount or not charge them but for people passing through i think we should have tolls somewhere. Not saying it needs to be forever but for quite a while to help produce some revenue. I remember paying to go over the Mt. Hope bridge and now we don't pay that. Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and the list goes on of how many states charge tolls. We don't have to be drastic in what is charged maybe anywhere from .50-1.00 but something is better than nothing. Everyone wants this state fixed but we are in such a mess that unfortunately it can't be fixed without some things to help generate revenue and don't tell me we need more business because with the mess the state is in no one wants to have a business here so until we can get above water no wants to look at RI. There are ways to make the toll idea work with out hurting the taxpayers as much as more tax increases. Either way they will get it out of us but the difference is raising our taxes will only effect us where those coming through out state from out of town won't be contributing to the taxes because if our taxes go to high who will want to visit here??? Just an opinion.

Hey, maybe instead of calling it a TOLL it could be called a USER FEE. People that use the bridge should have no problem paying a fee to use it. Why should the rest of the state have to pay for us to cross the bridge? There are discounts in place for vehicles that use it daily or often, stop being so lazy and arrange for an EZ pass or FAST PASS. It was all the traffic to the area that caused the need to replace the bridge anyway, pay for your use, it is no different than anything else in life.

John, The fuel tax, registration fees, and the cost to renew your license are more than enough to pay for maintenance for our roads and bridges. Don't Give the legislature a break. With and eight and a half billion dollar budget there is no excuse for the neglect.

While this is a very well written (and scary - it is Halloween after all) article about the tolls I believe Mr. Robicheau is unfounded in some of his statements. I'd attempt to correct them all, but instead would urge those concerned by the statements he makes to refer to the legislation that transferred the two structures from DOT to RIBTA. No, the new toll is not a step to use Newport county gas tax money to pay for roads elsewhere. Instead, the toll is a way for RIBTA to be able to issue bonds to perform maintaince work so the Jamestown Verazzano bridge and the new Sakonnet River bridge don't end up like their predicessors. At well over $1 Billion to replace the Pell bridge, I'd rather pay $0.83 per trip as a resident and let the out of state people pay $4.00 than see any of the main arterial roadways for Newport, Middletown, and Portsmouth fall into disrepair again.

Finally, I am opposed to the tolls, I think they damage the local economy and make life more difficult for east bay residents, but I'd urge whomever is reading these posts to do some homework before they start making blanket assumtions about the nature of the current state budget and finances.

John you truly don't get it.The Gas tax was created to fund high way and bridge maintenance. The Legislature has mismanaged this funding for many years leading to the state of disrepair we have now. Do your research. The Infrastructure bank proposed by the legislature will be robbed just as they robbed the gas tax . History will repeat itself if people like you continue to spout an uneducated agenda.

DISCLAIMER: There is more than one JOHN on this forum. While I don't agree or disagree with the JOHN above..I am NOT the John above. Maybe you can differentiate between us this way.....The John above seems to make longer posts than I do. I am the JOHN who likes wind turbines (when they work) and is Best Friends with Bill Carson. (BIG Grin)

To those who say it is just a toll, pay it, I really do not thihk you realize the inpact this will have on the island. Every item you buy will be priced higher, every thing from food to going out to eat, groceries,etc.EVERYTHING! There will be many buisness's that will close down because of the cost increase from the toll getting passed on to buisness and we will have more people out of work as places close down. We will never be the same.The changes to this island will not be a positive one. It is more than just a toll, it is a change to the quality of life for all of us here and surrounding towns. Simply:the goverment can't control it's spending. Why should Aquidneck Island bear the brunt of politians out of control? So sorry Jim Lipe you lost those petitions. I really hope they turn up. They may be names on a paper but they represent votes to the people running for office. Time for Chaffee to go..........far away.

tolls will have a bad impact on Newport county, I think any elected person who voted for them as part of the final budget should be voted out, I've been told "But there where many very important things in the whole budget1"? more important than killing jobs and taking money staright from the people who elected YOU?If Tolls aren't stopped and put in place i guess you all will need Bridge crew jobs, because I'm sure voters will remember

There are two "John"s on this post.

The fact still remains, making blanket statements about the money being "robbed" and telling half truths in an attempt to self promote is a waste of time. The east bay is underrepresented in the house and senate, so while a group of you continue to bemoan the current crop of legislators, I'd ask what else would you like them to do? What else could they have done apart from oppose the budget? With an insuffient number of votes, nothing could have prevented the bridge from being transferred to RIBTA. Let's look on the bright side of things. At least now, we will have a bridge that can be maintained by an organization that is pretty damn good at maintaining bridges.

I'd add to the conversation that the biggest impact to our local economy is the possible closing of the base in Newport via the BRAC or even naval command just moving jobs. If the sakonnet river bridge wasn't transferred, the Pell bridge would be looking at an increase in toll which could negatively affect the Navy's decisions to keep operations in Newport. It's not all bad.

Unfortunately the tolls are here to stay. Let's focus our conversations on things we can control, like making RI a better, more attractive place for businesses. That's what I plan to do...

Horseneck Beach is just as nice as Newport and the Braga Bridge will remain toll free. If they bill me for going over the Sakonnet Bridge it's just another case of taxation without representation! Sakonnet River or Jamestown would both be nice venues for a tea party.

BRAC could care less about a rise in tolls on the Pell bridge NUSC workers from CONN. get a special rate now, t Have YOU heard one word from the feds, NUSC? war college, rhat's a FACT, RI puts tolls on the Sakonett River Bridge and you can bet BRAC will stand up and take notice, if will imeditly raise the cost of living on thousands of workers and the cost of contracts, FACT!Not one word from NUSC, Raytheon, OCS the Navy? WHY? Because this is a state issue, they have no say in this until tolls are imposed or not, The Ga is about to bag Newport county and you think it's not a bad deal???