Another insult to New York riders.

[Mike M in ohio]

     Just came back from a few days relaxing, riding and spending money in the Adirondacks. While there, I picked up the local free newspaper, called the Chronical. In it, is a front page story, explaining that, because of New York's budget crisis, they are going to soon make the Northway (the stretch of Rt 87 between Albany and the Adirondack Region...a toll road.
     The proposed toll will be $5.00 for cars, but $10.00 for motorcycles, because of their inherent noise polution!!! I own a small getaway camp just North of Lake George, so this means that the many times I ride to and from that site (with other riding companions) I will be paying a sizeable tax, double what the cagers pay...and it will add up to several hundred bucks each year!!!
     And to top things off, the proposed toll was to begin July 1st, but they are trying to push it through before Americade, so they can snag the 50,000 Americaders who will be touring up and down the Northway in June.
     I'm seriously thinking of cancelling my Americade plans, and choose a different rally, in a friendlier state.                                                        Mike in New York

[Jess Tolbirt]

very seldom will i pay a toll,,,taxes built the roads and everyone has the right to drive on them,,,
i will agree that some bikes are noisy, but we make them ride in the back of the pack,,,
anyway i hate it they can just place a toll anywhere they want to...

[Oss]

Plus NYS is going to stop paying the contractors until further notice which should put around everybody into bankruptcy  You think washington dc is run by morons come to albany

but dont give up mike

22 runs next to 87 for a long ways   9N is also a nice road

the loop from Lake George to the west and north is 28 to 30 to 3 will take you past Long lake, Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake and Lake Placid then you go down the scary fun (think lots of potholes and itty bitty rock guardrails : )mountain road 73 to 9N past 87 to 22 and then south   Cant have more fun with your chaps on.


I intend to take that loop either Thur or Friday of americade week with Gman so come on up and ride with us  Saturday we head to Peru VT to ride with our friends at the POWWOW  Vermont roads have no tolls   Its 90 minutes to Peru from Lake George

[sandy]

It seems obvious to me that double the toll for motorcycles can't stand. If the objective of the road is quiet, then anything with a loud exhaust (as measured by a DB meter) should be banned from the road. Write a letter or call your state rep. It'll stop. Oct 1st 1965: NY state passed it's motorcycle license law. As it was winter time, nobody was taking any road tests on a motorcycle; except for one nitwit teenager. I was the first person in NYS to get a motorcycle license. Nov 15, 1965. I was 17 yrs old. I still couldn't drive a car legally as I hadn't taken the road test in a car yet. I cut my teeth in the Long Island Distressway. Uncle Sam got me out of there in '67 and after that I've lived in AZ. Best move I ever made. Most over populated states seem to have laws that start out with "You can't do this"
PS: AZ has no toll roads. There was talk of one a couple of years ago. The calls to state reps showed that if they put one in, nobody would use it. So call; It works.

[the inspector]

Not only that....but these dirty bastards raised the license reg. fees from $14.00 last year to $17.50 this year and nobody said a word about it (news or otherwise) this state sucks and 1st. chance I get I'm out of here. Southeast is the place to be.....just like Smokin Joe says. Gods country!

"the inspector"

[the inspector]

You know I'm sitting here thinking.....most of the year it's to cold to ride....the bastards are making money on the bikes they reg. for a year and we don't even use the stinken rodes in the winter....and it's not the $3.50  increase the piss's me off it's the fact they think their so smart and the PEOPLE of NY are so stupid. I say it's the other way around. But the bastards get away with it.....I just can't beleive it, and one more thing while I'm writing....I put a Veteran's Plate on my car and bikes and had to pay for every one of them, you would think a Veteran who served their Country would get a license plate for free, most of our people in office have NEVER been in the service. It's just bull crap I say!....OK now I'm done, O ya....going to ride my Valk today so now it's Valk related

"the inspector"

[solo1]

Let the American Motorcycle Association know about this.  This is pure discrimination.  You're members of the AMA aren't you?

Here in Indiana I also pay extra for Veterans plates.  The Legislature has had the opportunity to change that but so far, no luck.

[the inspector]

Yes to membership Wayne. Charter Life Member #129107
You know they stop counting after 25 or 30 years. But still a member in good standing. In fact this is the only thing I have been a member to for so long, all the rest get droped by the way side after some years, but NOT my love of motorcycles, I will take this to my grave with me.

"the inspector"

ps glad to see you got some wind the other day,,,keep it going Wayne!

[Bob E.]

taxes built the roads and everyone has the right to drive on them

First, I obviously think that double rates on motorcycles is ridiculous when bikes and even cars for that matter create almost no wear on a highway.  Trucks and weather (freezing/thawing and water saturation) are the big degraders to highways.  As a civil engineer who makes a living designing roads and bridges, I've seen and heard this arguement many times...and you would be right.  Taxes built the roads...MANY years ago.  The problem is that most highways were built 50 years ago (the interstate system was pretty much built in the 60's) and have reached the end of their service life.  Now they need to be re-built again.  Not only that, but they need to be upgraded significantly to handle much higher traffic volumes and safety requirements.  I posted in another thread that I am currently working on a project where we are adding a 3rd lane each direction to an existing highway.  We aren't reconstructing the existing 2 lanes...just resurfacing them with a 2 inch wearing course.  The costs are running about $12,000,000 per mile.  That's alot of money, and there just isn't the tax revenue to pay for it...and the politicians don't have the will to raise taxes to the level it would take to pay for it because we all know how everyone just loves new taxes.  They would be out on the unemployment line with the other 9.7% of Americans.  So they are looking at other revenue sources...many of which include leasing highways to private enterprises who agree to take on the maintenance and upgrades of a highway or major bridge in return for the right to collect tolls on those facilities.  The bottom line is we have a huge problem with aging infrastructure in this country.  Alot of it needs rebuilt and someone needs to pay for it.  And I'll predict that you will start seeing more and more toll roads to raise this revenue.

[Jess Tolbirt]

12 million a mile?
somebody needs to be fired,,,not you,,, we redid a 3 mile stretch on hwy 2004 a few years back and the whole 12 miles only cost2.4 mil.....thats 4 lanes

[the inspector]

OK OK....vote for me for President. Stop the war that is only killing our sons and daughters, that will also stop all the money were pouring into these screwed up countrys. Fire 75% of the people in office, get the remaining 25% to do their job. Rebuild American Hi-ways and electric grid, put many, many good working Americans back to work, crap I might as well keep going.....deport all illegal aliens, close our borders to keep all the crap out, have some kick ass defense system in place to protest us. Get Americans to BUY American products.....you know their the best built things. Let me see....oh ya quit screwing all the Americans, lets screw the non Americans so they don't want to come and live here with us hard working Americans and get a dam free ride to everything. Screw'em throw them the hell out, keep our money, put us back to work, buy American, and lets Ride!!!

"the inspector"

[Bob E.]

Not sure when that was, but that wouldn't even touch the engineering fees...let alone the construction nowadays.  The project I mentioned is for a 30 mile stretch of highway...they are actually only widening about half of it, then doing the prep-work for a future widening of the rest of it when funds become available.  We are the Program Manager for the project...which means we represent the State (our client) and are performing the reviews of the designs being submitted by the consultants.  Our fee is over $9M...just to review and coordinate the work being done by others.  I don't know for sure since I haven't seen their contracts, but I'd guess that each of their fees (4 consultants plus their subs) are in the range of $10M-$15.  That's before any shovel hits the dirt.

[Hoser]

A bike pulling a trailer pays the same as a 3 axle semi on the Kansas turnpike,  I have'nt used the turnpike in years, too many excellent toll free roads going to the same places!    hoser

[solo1]

I've been a member of our city's Board of Works for a long time. I believe that figure even though it sounds high.

Buying right of way, environmental impact studies, core borings, locating and relocating infrastructure, enigneering fees, Out of Scope efforts.... oh yes, it's expensive.

The only good news locally is that bids are coming in 30% below estimated right now.  The bad news is that's because construction unemployment is up to 27% in some states and the contractors are reducing their bids to get the work.

Oh well, our campaigning president will figure it all out 

[Ferris Leets]

I have a camp by Saranac Lake, and almost never use the Nothway to get there..... boring.

[Oss]

hope to swing by your place thur or fri then ferris  (during americade week)

email me or call my cell Nine one 4 522 0083