Letter to the editor: Turnpike tolls are a bargain

Columnist Paul Kengor takes an odd turn down the road of turnpike bashing; Did he type “Easy Street” into a GPS for his editorial destination (“Highway robbery on the Pa. Turnpike,” June 10, TribLIVE)? He criticizes costly tolls, and boasts stubborn refusal to use E-ZPass like a child demanding ice cream while refusing to eat broccoli.

He asserts “E-ZPass rates aren’t much better,” acknowledging they’re half the non-E-ZPass rate. They “ought to be much lower” he said, failing to mention that the Budget Direct study named it “most expensive” in the world partly because of its 360-mile length. It’s his way or the highway.

My way is the highway. I’ve driven the turnpike most of my life and was an early adopter of E-ZPass. Rates have increased over the years, and E-ZPass is cheapest. I’ve also enjoyed quickly traversing countless “un-manned” toll booths, now ubiquitous throughout the country. The convenience and efficiency is incalculable, and I can’t say there’s a better bargain.

The turnpike is far safer today because of enormous efforts and great expense. Reengineering and lane widening have been ongoing for years. Large corridors have 50% more roadway. Six lanes instead of four helps drivers experience far less stress, saving more lives. That’s a remarkable achievement.

Many government operations are stuck in tailspins of fiscal waste and institutional incompetence. It’s easy to criticize taxes and spending, but the “outrageous” turnpike tolls — subsidized by many non-Pennsylvanians — are something he shouldn’t have been spinning his wheels on.

Joe Schmidt

Lower Burrell