With John Murphy's letter ("All N.Y. highways should have tolls," Dec. 3), we finally have a sensible approach for Thruway tolls. I heartily agree the best funding for highways is tolls.
What a rational, business-sense solution it would be if the cost of a public good were reflected in its price. Repeated calls from highway users and political campaigners to keep tolls low cannot mask the fact that infrastructure costs must be absorbed by other taxes if not by tolls.
It is wrong and inefficient to take funds from other public needs in order to pay for highways.
Mr. Murphy extends the argument to the canal system, but it could be used for some other public services as well. We have overbuilt all kinds of facilities and infrastructure and can no longer afford to keep it up. The American Society of Civil Engineers graded 15 categories of infrastructure nationally in 2009, with only one category, solid waste, getting as high as a C+. They gave 11 Ds, with drinking water and wastewater systems coming in at D-.
Current public budgets make it difficult to balance needs and funding. While I think we can agree some services must be subsidized, it's time we started looking at sustainable ways to pay for as many as possible. What better way to do that than to let the consumers choose what to pay for knowing the full cost.
The Thruway Authority should start by right-sizing its operation and then implement a smart solution to costs by having users pay for highways. The state highway system should follow suit.
BARRY PENDERGRASS
Albany