You'll recall that exactly 100 years ago yesterday, Mayor William Jay Gaynor ended toll collections on the East River bridges. At the time, it cost motorists ten cents (cyclists paid a nickel) to cross the Williamsburg Bridge, which is where transit activists gathered yesterday to mourn the century of free rides over the river. Had tolling never ended, and tolls been raised to match the tolls on the Triborough Bridge, the city would have collected an accumulated $31 billion, according to Sam Schwartz, the former city traffic commissioner. He was at the base of the bridge in Williamsburg yesterday to collect giant nickels dimes from vintage car drivers, and ceremonially display a giant check for that lost $31 billion:

East River Bridges: 100 Free Years Take a "Toll" from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

Schwartz also displayed a cover of the NY Post from 1988 reporting that the Williamsburg Bridge was in such bad shape that it was shut down, possibly forever! Schwartz recalled that he was inspecting the bridge before the closure, and found that the steel in some places was "paper thin." After repairs, the bridge was finally opened three months later, but Schwartz recalls, "I would jealously look over at the Verrazano Bridge being painted and repainted. The difference at the Verrazano Bridge is you pay a $13 toll. You get what you pay for." [Via Streetsblog, Streetfilms]