Toll Booths

88 days and 10 hours to go....

Due to an emergency yesterday, I used the toll booths in Hooksett on I-93.

For many of you, that might not seem like a big deal, but I see using a New Hampshire toll booth the same way a Jehovah's Witness might see testifying in court or voting. I only wish I were as pious as they seem to be, i've lost track of how many times i've gone through the tolls this year, I suppose i'm fortunate that i've kept it in the single digits despite going from Merrimack to Concord and back just about every day.

Tolls are the second biggest issue from people i've talked to at doors, but unfortunately in their eyes it's tinged with the biggest issue: nobody can do anything about it.

For those of you who are reading this article from outside Merrimack, let me explain simply.

Our town has 1/20th of New Hampshire's population. We have 1/3rd of the state's toll booths. Last time I checked, we do not have 1/3rd of the state's wealth.

If that is not economic injustice, I don't know what is.

The story of the tollbooths comes from the late 1980s, we wanted our exits onto the F.E Everett Turnpike expanded. So, the state came to us and said "if you want your exits expanded, you'll need to approve 'temporary' tollbooths". Twenty years later and those temporary tollbooths have become permanent due to a multi-million dollar profit the state rakes in and a lack of organized resistance from the town itself.

That must change.

It will take two years, and it will take more than myself, but I have a three point plan to fight back effectively against the injustices of the Turnpike System.

First off, we as Merrimackers must stop using the tolls. I've tried to live the example I want to preach, only using the tolls in absolute emergencies, but it'll take hundreds of Merrimackers to stop using the tolls and start saving their toll money in a grassroots effort, led by the Town Council and our delegation in Concord. Executive Councillor Deb Pignatelli has already made a great foundation with her Tolltalkers group.

Second, we need to find more Deb Pignatellis: people from outside of Merrimack who are affected by tolls. This is not an issue about Merrimack, this is an issue of social justice, if we are to succeed in Concord, all of the effort cannot come from just Merrimack. Dover faces a similiar plight to us, and many other towns and cities feel the disproportionate focus on certain areas that the Turnpike System has.

And finally, we need to use that money saved from avoiding the tolls to build a warchest to fight the tolls. Legal fees, political action groups, mass media communication, all of it costs money and all of it will probably be necessary in order to make progress on the toll issue.

I cannot guarantee a timeframe on success, but I can guarantee that we will fail if we decide to give up or continue on without any effective strategy like the one I just said above.