New York lawmaker proposes tolls on Connecticut drivers

Toll sensor gantries hanging over the Massachusetts Turnpike in Newton, Mass. Toll sensor gantries hanging over the Massachusetts Turnpike in Newton, Mass. Photo: Elise Amendola / Associated Press Photo: Elise Amendola / Associated Press Image 1 of / 33 Caption Close New York lawmaker proposes tolls on Connecticut drivers 1 / 33 Back to Gallery

A New York State senator is proposing a series of tolls targeting Connecticut drivers.

Peter Harckham suggested a series of tolls “all along” New York’s border with Connecticut — on Interstate 684, the Hutchinson River Parkway south of Greenwich, on local routes in Lewisboro and Pound Ridge, and anywhere else along the border.

Harckham’s proposal is, he said, in direct response to Gov. Ned Lamont’s plan to put a toll gantry on the 1.4-mile stretch of I-684 that runs through Connecticut.

“You cannot even have a sip of coffee in the time it takes to go through that section,” Harckham said. “We don’t want to get into a toll war but if the governor insists on building his version of the border wall we will have no choice but to respond in kind.”

The gantry in question is one of many proposed tolls proposed by Lamont as part of his overarching transportation plan. There are as many as 70,000 drivers on that tiny stretch of I-684, 85 pecent of whom are not from Connecticut, according to Lamont’s office.

That plan has not been approved, and legislators are expected to meet during a special session in January to discuss options.

Lamont did not address Harckham’s proposal directly but his plan, according to Lamont spokesman Man Reiss, is to improve the state’s infrastructure.

“Governor Ned Lamont has heard from Connecticut families and businesses that he must make investments in the state’s transportation infrastructure to the benefit of all Connecticut residents, and that is exactly what he is going to do,” he said.

Harckham said he and other lawmakers had sent a note to Lamont regarding the toll proposal, which he said went unanswered, which he called “arrogant” and “galling.”

“Do we want to do this? No we don’t,” Harckham said. “Nobody wants a toll road.”

Harckham, appearing at a press conference with local municipal leaders, said he hopes to avoid submitting legislation to build toll targeting Connecticut drivers, though he said there is no “legal obstacle.”

“I like Connecticut. I like connecticut residents,” Harkham said. “My mother lives in Connecticut, my brother lives in Connecticut. I like Connecticut. The governor, maybe not so much.”