Group wants to give Mass. voters the chance to eliminate tolls

(NECN: Scot Yount, Boston) – We’ve heard a lot in recent months about plans to get rid of the tolls in Massachusetts. None of those plans ever came true. Now, one group wants to give voters a chance to throw out the tolls. You don’t have to look very far to find people who are opposed to paying for tolls on Massachusetts roadways. And that has fueled the latest effort to end the toll system. And to that end, a group calling itself Citizens Against Road Tolls or CART has filed a ballot initiative proposal that would put the issue of ending tolled roads on the ballot in 2010. That means signatures. The group is using its interactive website, Closethetolls.org to stir up interest and signatures. They figure they need about 100 thousand. Mary Connaughton of the Turnpike Authority said by phone that taking down the tolls would save some 46 million dollars a year-money spent just to collect the tolls. However the state would have to find the money to maintain the road elsewhere, an initiative she supports. CART knows it is facing an uphill battle. Similar moves have failed in the past. If the measure passed, the state Department of Transportation would be required to establish a new trust fund to cover the existing debts on the roadways. The ballot question would also ban the creation of any new tolls. NECN’s Scot Yount reports.