by Barbara Ehrentreu

Created on: February 25, 2009

Driving in and out of Connecticut has become a way of life for us. We like Connecticut and the cheaper prices with less tax or no tax on many items. It's almost a habit for people like us who live in Westchester and Rockland and cross the border all the time. So what would happen if suddenly we had to pay a toll when we passed from New York to Connecticut?

One reason we love going to Connecticut is the ease of travel from New York for shopping and movies. We have traveled along the Connecticut River stopping by the little towns that hug the riverbank. We've traveled over the covered bridges and found a quaint bookshop or a general store. We love Danbury for the shopping at Stew Leonard's and the movies. We even bought our flat screen TV in the Best Buy close to the movie theaters.

Since we live close to I95 we have traveled to Greenwich, Stamford and Norwalk. We belong to a film group in Greenwich. In the summer we've gone further than Westport to find a restaurant. For my daughter's twenty-first birthday we went to Mohegan Sun to celebrate. We've been to Mystic Seaport several times.

We in New York are not surprised by tolls. If you travel the New York Thruway you need to pay several tolls. Crossing the Tappan Zee Bridge requires a toll one way. So we stopped going to the Palisades Mall. We had enjoyed going there for years, but when things got tighter at home we decided to skip it. My husband works in Queens, and he pays tolls every day. He crosses the Bronx Whitestone
Bridge both going there and coming home. Every bridge in New York City requires a toll. It doesn't stop traffic going into the city, but we as residents of Westchester, think twice about going into New York City.

If a toll were placed on Route 84 we would definitely curtail our trips over the border. We would think twice about going to Danbury as freely as we do. If we had a toll both ways it would pay for us to shop in the Stew Leonard's off the New York Thruway, which is more crowded; but it's closer and we still have to pay a toll. The New York Thruway has the exit after you pay your toll. However, it is at least twenty minutes closer to our home. The enjoyment we find in the Danbury store wouldn't be worth the traveling if we didn't save any money.

I am sure that if a toll were placed on I84 it would disturb a lot of truck drivers. If anyone has been on this road around midnight you know the majority of drivers are truckers. The amount of money they would have to pay will be transferred to the cost of the goods they carry. The stores that sell these goods will raise their prices. One of the reasons we come to Connecticut is the prices are much less expensive.

As I said at the beginning of this article, my family and I love Connecticut and enjoy the ease and saving money when we come. Adding a toll to Connecticut highways might make us and our fellow travelers from Westchester and Rockland change our minds. It would cause us to stop going or at least to cut down our trips there. Instead of adding money, a toll might keep money from being spent here. The revenue added by a toll will not offset the debit from the loss of shoppers and fellow movie - goers who use Connecticut to offset the extravagant prices in Westchester and Rockland counties. Please do not add a toll to Connecticut's highways.

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