Republican Candidate for 107th State Assembly District says proposed border tolls would discriminate against area residents and businesses.
Proponents are not addressing implementation and management costs and likely loss of Federal highway funds.
Report by Paula Antolini
February 14, 2015 7:25AM EDT
Message from office of Steve Harding:
The subject of restoring highway tolls in Connecticut received renewed media attention with the revelation on Feb. 9 that Roy Occhiogrosso, a political aide of Gov. Dannel Malloy, and a managing partner at the Hartford-based Global Strategies Group, recently signed an agreement to represent HNTB Corp. of Kansas City, which bills itself as “The most trusted advisor in the toll industry.” Occhiogrosso is now listed with the state as the main Connecticut lobbyist for HNTB.
Commenting on the situation, Steve Harding, Republican candidate for the 107th State Assembly District in the upcoming special election said, “In spite of his attempt at being coy about the issue, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that Gov. Malloy intends to put the return of highway tolls in Connecticut on the front burner of his legislative initiatives.” Harding noted that so-called “Gateway Tolls” discriminate against residents and businesses in areas like the 107th district, which in some locations is less than ten miles from the New York state border.
“We have many residents that cross the border to get to work in business hubs like White Plains or to access the Metro North train stations in Brewster or Southeast. Similarly, we have many businesses dependent on customers from New York who come to Connecticut to shop at stores like Costco in Brookfield, Target in Bethel, Stew Leonard’s in Danbury and many other retail, dining and entertainment facilities in the area. And from a regional perspective, it is widely reported that 40 percent of the customers at the Danbury Fall mall come from adjacent New York State. If these tolls are established, many of these customers will likely head for other shopping destinations on the New York side of the border—resulting in the loss of significant business for area retailers as well as sales tax revenues for the state.”
The tolls—with rates ranging from $3.00 to $7.00 in preliminary discussions—would also create safety concerns and traffic congestion as motorists seek to avoid paying them.
Harding cited Mill Plain Road in Danbury as an example.
Harding noted that tolls are being hailed as a panacea for addressing the state’s transportation and infrastructure problems. “Revenue projections are considered by many to be wildly optimistic”, said Harding. “And proponents are not addressing the offsets of building and maintaining the overhead toll structures, establishing data-intensive recording and collection procedures—and perhaps most importantly—the loss of nearly $500 million in annual federal highway funds if tolls are reinstituted in Connecticut. These costs and funding losses could very well negate the revenues that the tolls might generate.”
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About Steve:
Steve Harding is a near life-long resident of the 107th District. He graduated from Brookfield High School and Albertus Magnus College. He received his J.D. degree from the New York School of Law and is currently in private practice in Danbury. Steve is a volunteer member of the Brookfield Board of Education and is active in community affairs, most notably youth sports programs.
—Special Election • Tuesday, February 24, 2015—
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