State legislators from Valley decry proposed toll increase

The new rates would take effect Jan. 1, 2007.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
CANFIELD -- Two Ohio House members from Mahoning County are questioning why the Ohio Turnpike Commission is moving ahead with a proposed toll increase even though high gas prices are keeping people at home.
State Reps. John Boccieri of New Middletown, D-61st, and Kenneth Carano of Austintown, D-59th, said the proposal is a poor idea.
"For the average person, what worse possible timing can there be" than now, Carano said. "The commission isn't looking out for the welfare of the residents of the state of Ohio."
Boccieri and Carano say state law should be changed to require the commission to seek permission from the Ohio Legislature for any rate adjustments.
The commission today approved a resolution permitting its executive director, Gary Suhadolnik, to conduct three public hearings, probably in August and/or September, on the toll rates. One of those hearings would be in the Youngstown area, Suhadolnik said.
The commission is expected to approve the new rates in November. The new rates would take effect Jan. 1, 2007, Suhadolnik said.
This would be the first permanent rate change for the turnpike in eight years.
Passenger cars, trucks and other similar-sized vehicles would pay an additional half-penny per mile, and large trucks and buses would pay an additional penny per mile under the proposal.
All tolls would be rounded to the nearest quarter, meaning fares on some short trips would be reduced, Suhadolnik said.
New rates
For a passenger car, the cost of driving the full 241-mile turnpike would go from $8.95 to $10.25. For large trucks, the rate would go from $31 to $33.50 for the entire turnpike ride.
But Suhadolnik points out that that is less than what truckers paid to travel the highway before 2004.
To increase large truck traffic on the turnpike and dissuade its drivers from using roads not designed for such large vehicles, the commission in 2004 reduced the rate for trucks weighing 23,001 to 80,000 pounds. The old rate was $42.45 for the entire turnpike trip.
The Ohio Department of Transportation provided $23.4 million to subsidize that rate reduction, a subsidy that expired last month.
Commercial traffic on the turnpike in 2005 increased by 12.3 percent compared with the previous year. But passenger travel decreased by 0.5 percent last year compared to 2004, the first decline in that category for the turnpike since 1997.
"Passenger traffic decreased, so why increase the toll for passenger vehicles?" Boccieri said.
The two legislators are concerned that the rate adjustment will lead to trucks' taking state routes and side roads that aren't designed to handle such heavy vehicles.
skolnick@vindy.com