A Mashpee, Mass. town official is reviving a controversial idea: placing tolls on the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges to fund environmental efforts on Cape Cod.
David Weeden, Mashpee Select Board Vice Chairman proposed a $2.00 toll on the bridges during a board meeting Monday, estimating the measure could raise about $70 million annually. He said the money should be earmarked for coastal infrastructure and water quality improvements.
“Massachusetts reaps the benefits of Cape Cod tourism,” Weeden said. “They come over here and leave their stuff behind, and then we're left to deal with it.”
Weeden said Cape residents should not be charged, suggesting E-ZPass or other technology could be used to exempt locals.
While the idea received some attention, it was quickly met with pushback. State Rep. Steve Xiarhos took to Facebook Wednesday, stating, “NO TOLLS,” and calling the proposal an unfair burden on working families.
“A toll is a tax,” Xiarhos wrote. “The bridges are a lifeline to the mainland for those of us who call the Cape home.”
The state’s transportation agency has also dismissed the idea. “Tolls at the crossings over the Cape Cod Canal are not being considered,” said Jacquelyn Goddard, MassDOT spokeswoman, in a statement.
Though tolls have been discussed in past years—including by state officials as a possible funding option for bridge replacements—there are currently no plans to implement them. The Bourne and Sagamore bridges, built in 1935, remain the only roadway access points to and from Cape Cod.
Source: Boston Herald, NBC Boston
