B-Man Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 FTA: The EPA rejected the Cuomo administration’s plan to use the federal clean water money for several major initiatives at the bridge project, including $65 million to remove the existing spans, $110 million for dredging, and $48 million for an underwater noise attenuation system. For the love of God, please tell me that isn't what its sounds like. and 65 Million to take down the existing spans ? someone's pockets are being lined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 FTA: For the love of God, please tell me that isn't what its sounds like. and 65 Million to take down the existing spans ? someone's pockets are being lined. They replaced the eastern span of the Bay Bridge recently. It's going to take them three years to remove the old span. Well it's been over a year and they are probably less than 20% done. Just blow the !@#$ing thing up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 They aren't collecting because the laws do not allow them to collect. If a car goes through a electronic toll without paying, the state sends a bill to the car owner. But under motor vehicle law, the driver is liable for violations, not the vehicle. The state would have to prove who the driver is, and that cannot be done by the license plate cameras. They can take away the EZ Pass, though. Probably why they don't have red light cams in NYS? The way the law is written? How the heck would they collect. The states that have the cams, when a car goes through, it is treated like the person who the vehicle is registered to violated a local ordinance. It has nothing to do with motor vehicle law... From what I understand. That means, doens't matter who is behind the wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 FTA: For the love of God, please tell me that isn't what its sounds like. and 65 Million to take down the existing spans ? someone's pockets are being lined. Considering the renovations to the Ralph cost $120 million, $65 million to remove the existing Tappan Zee spans seems like chump change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 FTA: For the love of God, please tell me that isn't what its sounds like. and 65 Million to take down the existing spans ? someone's pockets are being lined. Underwater noise attenuation...in the HUDSON? What the !@#$ lives in the Hudson that's going to be harmed by noise? Hell, what the !@#$ lives in the Hudson? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Anchorage Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Years back I made it all the way from BFLO to the Mass line w/out paying the toll. I still have the toll ticket. Don't ask how, but I ended in one line, they were changing shifts or something and the lady working there flagged me through. I turned to my wife and said: "Did we just get out of paying over 10 dollars?" Hey... I guess it happens... I wonder where I put that ticket, it was a pretty sizabel amount the toll that is. I wonder if there are more "mistakes" w/EZ-Pass? You never fail to amaze me. Did you not worry when Walmart announced it was buying a fleet of fuel efficient trucks that the amount of fuel tax they pay would go down and the roads would go to pot? You live exactly where you fit in- Illinois. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keepthefaith Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Same thing with the Illinois Tollway... As long as they keep laying concrete on new roads, they keep taking. It is written into the Tollway Consitution. PROGRESS! Yeah, right. :-/ As the great Governor Quinn says "Illinois needs more revenue to pay its' bills". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 (edited) As the great Governor Quinn says "Illinois needs more revenue to pay its' bills". And that it will get. Here's a bizarre story I remember from 1999/2000... Maybe Illinois needs to start checking the security tunnels for loose change: ILLINOIS STATE TOLL HIGHWAY AUTHORITY. A woman employed as an elf in a Marshall Field's promotion last December that paid motorists' tolls at the York Road plaza on Interstate 88 said she saw what she estimated to be $200 in change spilled into a high-security tunnel beneath the Oak Brook plaza. Tollway officials disputed the account, saying no more than $8 to $10 in coins is spilled during a typical week. The report surfaced after a state Senate panel meeting last month chastised tollway agency representatives for failing to take precautions that might have prevented the disappearance of $182,000. Anyway, I am not sure how the Tollway Constitution is written and if they can siphon that money off to pay other things. I do know that Illinois was the last state to accept pennies in the toll basket. Not sure if that is still the case, I use an EZ-Pass through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and New York. You never fail to amaze me. Did you not worry when Walmart announced it was buying a fleet of fuel efficient trucks that the amount of fuel tax they pay would go down and the roads would go to pot? You live exactly where you fit in- Illinois. Me worry? LoL... I find it hard to believe Walmart actively seeks toll routes. ;-P Trust me Illinois, is a very conservative state outside of Cook County. For the record, I don't live in Cook County. ;-P Anyway... I am doing my part... Both my vehicles get 15mpg... I have paid twice my amount for a long time. Edited September 17, 2014 by ExiledInIllinois Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keepthefaith Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Anyway, I am not sure how the Tollway Constitution is written and if they can siphon that money off to pay other things. Certainly you don't think that the idiots that run the state of Illinois would be disciplined enough to spend toll revenue only on the maintenance of roads even if those are the rules? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary M Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 http://www.pressconn...&nclick_check=1 http://www.thruway.ny.gov/about/financial/budgetbooks/books/2013-budget.pdf Some how they cut out $33 million for state police and cut toll collection by a million, but all the rest of the salaries went up. How can they give anyone a raise when they are losing $35 million a year in tolls? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 http://www.thruway.n...2013-budget.pdf Some how they cut out $33 million for state police and cut toll collection by a million, but all the rest of the salaries went up. How can they give anyone a raise when they are losing $35 million a year in tolls? Unions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TakeYouToTasker Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 (edited) http://www.thruway.n...2013-budget.pdf Some how they cut out $33 million for state police and cut toll collection by a million, but all the rest of the salaries went up. How can they give anyone a raise when they are losing $35 million a year in tolls? That's the problem with government spending: it doesn't report to a bottom line, which makes ROI's completely meaningless. Edited September 18, 2014 by TakeYouToTasker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 It's funny money. There's an endless supply of it. Government doesn't have a P/L line to be concerned about. Within the "No Budget" Obama years it's just been an endless string of continuing resolutions where the rate of spending increases is about the only thing that gets debated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 Only in government is a reduction in the amount of spending increase considered a spending cut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 Only in government is a reduction in the amount of spending increase considered a spending cut. True, and oh how the Republicans were excoriated for trying to just reduce the growth rate of spending. "They want to kill grandma, they don't care about children/homeless/unemployed/education/social security/medicare/medicaid/etc., etc., etc." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 True, and oh how the Republicans were excoriated for trying to just reduce the growth rate of spending. "They want to kill grandma, they don't care about children/homeless/unemployed/education/social security/medicare/medicaid/etc., etc., etc." It is just me. IMO, I would say domestic issues/spending take precedence over foreign/military spending. There are places that can be cut and there are places that can be increased. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
\GoBillsInDallas/ Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 (edited) September 18th: Thruway Authority says that the Tappan Zee Bridge will be built using tolls from the bridge, and not from tolls from the entire Thruway (including Buffalo area): http://www.lohud.com...tolls/15802017/ November 2nd: Newspapers finds out that the Thruway Authority does plan to raise toll on the ENTIRE Thruway system to cover the cost of building the bridge: http://www.lohud.com...acted/18271849/ Also, Thruway Authority refuses to release the financial sections of the loan application that detail out the the construction costs and the financing plan: The Journal News' initial Freedom of Information Act request was denied, with federal officials arguing — after consulting with Thruway leaders — that releasing "sensitive and hypothetical" toll projections could damage the Thruway's credit rating and raise its borrowing costs — a position the state continues to maintain. "Any release of this preliminary financial information could harm the Thruway's credit rating and drive up interest rates on Thruway bonds, effectively increasing future tolls on the new bridge," Madison said in a statement Friday. So basically, they're building a bridge that costs several billion dollars, but they're not going to tell the public how much the bridge costs or how they are going to pay for it. Edited November 9, 2014 by \GoBillsInDallas/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 September 18th: Thruway Authority says that the Tappan Zee Bridge will be built using tolls from the bridge, and not from tolls from the entire Thruway (including Buffalo area): http://www.lohud.com...tolls/15802017/ November 2nd: Newspapers finds out that the Thruway Authority does plan to raise toll on the ENTIRE Thruway system to cover the cost of building the bridge: http://www.lohud.com...acted/18271849/ Also, Thruway Authority refuses to release the financial sections of the loan application that detail out the the construction costs and the financing plan: The Journal News' initial Freedom of Information Act request was denied, with federal officials arguing — after consulting with Thruway leaders — that releasing "sensitive and hypothetical" toll projections could damage the Thruway's credit rating and raise its borrowing costs — a position the state continues to maintain. "Any release of this preliminary financial information could harm the Thruway's credit rating and drive up interest rates on Thruway bonds, effectively increasing future tolls on the new bridge," Madison said in a statement Friday. So basically, they're building a bridge that costs several billion dollars, but they're not going to tell the public how much the bridge costs or how they are going to pay for it. Better yet, they're not going to fully disclose financials to bond investors, because it might make it harder to borrow money. If a company did that, their CEO and CFO would go to jail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 Better yet, they're not going to fully disclose financials to bond investors, because it might make it harder to borrow money. If a company did that, their CEO and CFO would go to jail. Yeah but it's not illegal when the government does it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Very wide right Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 In NYS - 60% democrats - 33% Republicans just throwing it out there............... NICEEEEEEEEEE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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