MassDOT would like to ignore your opinion on the condition of the Massachusetts Turnpike.
If the Turnpike is in good condition, tolls are eliminated next year. Of course tolls aren’t going away.
This is the kind of public hearing where officials have made up their mind but are legally obliged to let people speak theirs.
Massachusetts has spent years making sure the Turnpike would not be in good repair, in the state’s opinion. It’s one of those “you screw up, you get promoted” deals. Politicians would hate to lose the revenue too.
You can at least keep them from saying later “the public unanimously agreed”.
Tell them the Turnpike is literally in as good repair as it will ever be. Spending twice as much money per lane-mile as on free roads did not make the road in good shape, so there is no point in keeping tolls.
The state plans to spend $200 million replacing toll booths with electronic toll collection. A $130 million contract was approved two years ago. As if the decision to keep tolls had already been made.
You can also tell them there’s hundreds of millions in savings from abolishing tolls.
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