Week of: Thursday, May 07, 2009 |
| Front | News | Opinion | Obituaries | Calendar | Real Estate | Subscribe | Classifieds | Archives |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
by Jared Cohen
“I want to stress to the public (Š) we have not once, as a council or as a community, said that we think you should be paying 10 dollars a day to come over the bridge,” he said. Tolls were explored in a study that the city asked for in May 2008, mainly to explore one funding possibility for the SR-75/282 Transportation Corridor Project. The consultants took a draft of that study to the council April 21, hence the talk of tolling earlier in the meeting. Ironically, Coronado's officials may not have the final say in how a new toll will be executed on the bridge that bears the town's namesake. That final decision looks to rest with the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG.) According to a memo from a city legal consultant, Nossaman, LLP, SANDAG is the agency that holds tolling authority at the moment. The “authority to impose the toll has neither expired by its own terms nor been repealed by subsequent legislative action,” read the memo. Residents came to the April 21 council meeting with strong feelings on the subject of a new toll, nonetheless. Mike Giorgino said that he was not in favor of a raised toll. “I don't have a problem with the traffic in Coronado and I live 100 feet away from the worst of it, but I would have a big problem if these tolls got re-imposed.” “The vast majority of the people that will be paying for this are the people that drive in and out of North Island,” he said. “We've got sailors over there that qualify for food stamps.” Council member Carrie Downey said, “I want to make sure people understand (Š) there is no item on the agenda for us to vote on anything having to do with tolls. It was to receive a report. There was no agenda item for looking at a tunnel option, there was no agenda item for any of this. We're not here to take a vote today,” she said Coronado resident Patrick Rolfe said that a new toll would place an unfair burden on service members who will commute across the bridge. “This will be done on the backs of our men and women that are in the armed forces,” he said. “That's how the bridge was built.” Rolfe said he has heard “a lot of ill will towards our fine city” in regards to a new toll. “The sooner we can put that issue to bed, the better,” he said. Coronado resident Mona Kelly spoke in support of a future bridge toll “for safety reasons, because the Third and Fourth street corridor is a very dangerous place to live,” she said. Tanaka opened the discussion on the tolling/feasibility study on the council agenda. “Many of you came here to speak today on this item, and I would urge you to listen to what the context is,” Tanaka said. “We're not deciding today to put tolls on the bridge, the way the news has sort of slanted it,” he said. “We're here to discuss what is possible.” “Coronado Officials Mull $10 Roundtrip Bridge Toll” was the title of an April 20 news item on www.10news.com. PB Americas, a division of Parsons Brinckerhoff, assembled the study for the city. Brian Pearson, senior engineering manager with PB Americas, said that the tolling feasibility study was requested by the city last year. “We have prepared considerable information on how tolling might work should it be placed on the bridge,” he said. “There is no action being requested of the council today. There are some suggested next steps that you might consider as this project moves forward.” An “extensive public-review comment period” would likely be in spring 2010, Pearson said, which would then “culminate in the selection of a preferred (design) alternative.” Then the final environmental document will be prepared and completed in early-to-mid 2011, Pearson said. “It's important to note that the environmental document itself contains almost no financial or funding information,” Pearson said. Coronado city manager Mark Ochenduszko made a similar point in an April 27 release from the city. He said, “This study is simply one part of a larger financial strategy the city is pursuing to determine if a major improvement project in Coronado is possible.” “Tolling revenue could potentially pay for the entire Orange Avenue underpass alternative, and between 78 and 92 percent of the underground tunnel, depending on the option selected and the amount charged. Toll amounts considered in the study ranged between $1.50 and $5.00 each way,” read the release. The city council voted unanimously to accept the study.
|
|
Copyright © 2010, Eagle Newspapers. All rights reserved. |
