To the Editor:

Republicans are certainly vocal about their opposition to the subject of tolls on Connecticut roadways. So I wasn't surprised that Governor Malloy's recent end run around the legislature to fund a $10 million study on the subject filled my e-mail with letters from our local Hartford representatives railing against tolls. Personally, I'm left scratching my head as to why? The only conclusion I can come to is that none of them ever drive out of our state.

My family of four does a fair amount of driving between my wife's job in Massachusetts and our friends and relatives on the east coast. I've paid tolls to New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts to name a few. Thirty-one states currently have some form of roadway tolls in place; several states even charge higher rates to out-of-state residents vs what in-state residents pay.

Current electronic tolling by E-ZPass makes paying so convenient that it is easy to overlook the true cost of what other states actually charge us to use their roadways. In many instances, you don't even have to slow down to pay, as new express lanes collect the fees as you drive by. I'll be the first to admit that I hadn't looked at one of my E-ZPass statements in years; well, at least until I received a notification informing me that my automatic account replenishment charge was being raised to $100. Was I actually spending that much money on out of state tolls? The answer shocked me. As of July 23rd, the aforementioned states have taxed my family $913 to use their roadways!

Last week, sitting in the typical Friday afternoon I-84 parking lot leaving Danbury, I couldn't help but notice that I was surrounded by a sea of out-of-state license plates. New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Maine, and Pennsylvania were the most common, but not the only ones. That's when the light went off for me. Why is it we allow all of these out-of-state drivers, particularly heavy trucks, to use our roadways for free? Enough is enough! It's time to start making out-of-state drivers pay their fair share to use our roadways, the same way they charge Connecticut residents to use their roadways.

It's time to support roadway tolls instead of raising the gasoline tax - especially with the growing number of electric vehicles that escape paying any motor fuel taxes. Many will claim that this additional tax is just too much. Those same people love to complain about the poor condition of and congestion on our roadways. It's time for Hartford to stop bickering and implement a solution for our roads - which helps our economy by creating jobs and improving our infrastructure. Tolling is the only option that spreads the bill over the greatest number and most frequent users of our roads, while not allowing out-of-state drivers (or electric cars) a free ride through Connecticut.

Peter Sandler

4 Far Horizon Drive, Sandy HookAugust 6, 2018