Pennsylvania: I-80 Tolls
There are plans in place to install a tolling system on Pennsylvania Interstate I-80. There has been considerable debate on the subject, including legislation by two congressmen, Reps. Phil English and John Peterson, that would remove the financial incentive to put tolls in place. This legislation, the Free Highway Protection Act, has already passed the House of Representatives.Some talking points on the issue are below and a list of media contacts have been provided at the bottom of this email as well. Feel free to use these talking points to write letters to your local paper.
We also urge you to contact your legislators and let them know how you feel about these tolls. You can find out who your legislators are by visiting this site.
Tolling I-80 is nothing more than a quick fix for closing gaps in the state budget.
Harrisburg politicians failed to consider the significant, adverse economic impact of the plan as well as traffic diversions on secondary roads, negative impact on the environment (stopped cars/trucks will emit more pollutants), among others.
User fees are already in place.
The gas tax offers a way to charge drivers according to how often they are on the roads.
Adding tolls to the gas tax allows the government to charge motorists twice for the same road.
Combining the gas tax currently in place with additional tolls places an unreasonable burden on motorists. Better government spending and not allowing transportation funds to be diverted to other programs are the answer to budget problems, not new fees.
Additional information can be found here: www.motorists.org/tolls/
List Of Media Contacts:
Erie Times
814.870.1808 (fax)
Record Argus
argusnews@rrbiznet.com
The Herald
724.981.5116 (fax)
edletters@sharonherald.com
Warren Times Observer
editorial@timesobserver.com
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
bfryer@tribweb.com
Butler Eagle
news@butlereagle.com
ATTN: Joe Kasprzyk
724.282.4180 (fax)
724.282.8000 (phone)
Tribune Review
opinion@tribweb.com
412.320.7914 (phone)
Erie Times News
letters@timesnews.com
814.870.1600 ext 3 then ext 1 to follow up
Meadville Tribune
tribune@meadvilletribune.com
814.724.6370
Corry Journal
corryjournal@tbscc.com
814.664.2288 (fax)
814.665-8291 phone
