October 22, 2010, 11:40AM
Staten Island, NY - Rep. Michael E. McMahon (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn. NY) made the following statement today about the importance of maintaining the one-way toll on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge:
“Staten Islanders and Brooklynites pay the highest tolls in the nation and I am 100 percent opposed to the idea of bringing back two-way tolls on the Verrazano Bridge. The morning traffic on the Staten Island Expressway is already bad enough, and adding a new East bound toll on the bridge will just make traffic worse” said Rep. McMahon. “As a Member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I will oppose any effort to bring back the bad old days of two way tolls on the Verrazano. With all due respect to other Members of the NYC Congressional delegation who may have different views about the way we pay our tolls here, I will continue to stand up for Staten Islanders and fight any effort to push for a two-way toll on the Verrazano. The tolls and traffic Staten Islanders endure are completely outrageous, and the MTA must not be allowed to do anything that would further increase congestion on our highways and bridges. In fact, the only discussion we should be having is how to reduce or eliminate these exorbitant tolls for the people of Staten Island and Brooklyn.” added Rep. McMahon.
Congressman McMahon has consistently fought for Staten Island and Brooklyn commuters. On September 28, 2010, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed H.R. 3960, the Residential Toll and Commuter Fairness Act of 2010, a bill sponsored by Rep. McMahon. The bill will protect Staten Island residential toll discounts on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, Bayonne and Goethals Bridges and the Outerbridge Crossing, as well as similar residential discount programs throughout New York and the country, from attack in the courts.
In addition, Rep. McMahon has been the leading advocate for improving and reconstructing the Staten Island Expressway since his days on the New York City Council. As a Councilman he helped spearhead the planning and community discussions about the scope of the project, and in Congress he successfully lobbied and secured over $103 million in federal funds to rehabilitate and improve the expressway. In addition, Rep. McMahon has continued to be involved in many of the project details. For example, in May 2009, Rep. McMahon met with Commissioner Stanley Gee, and implored him to explore several potential solutions to address the Bradley Avenue slowdown. In response to this meeting, on July 14, 2009, NYS DOT agreed to implement a plan to remedy the back-up which occurs when traffic approaches the uphill portion of the SIE near the Bradley Avenue and Slosson Avenue exits through the construction of additional lanes and the removal of the unused Richmond Parkway interchange. Now that the first phase has officially begun Rep. McMahon will continue his efforts to ensure that the SIE will receive the funding required for the improvement and upkeep it so desperately needs.
