Official signals I-93 toll on table
Patrick tries to quell debate
Governor Deval Patrick's top transportation official signaled yesterday that he wants to take a closer look at adding tolls along Interstate 93, but stopped short of endorsing that method for raising money for the state's major roads and tunnels.
It was the second time in three months that a Patrick administration official has indicated a willingness to look at charging tolls on the Southeast Expressway. In both cases, the administration put out a statement later in the day intended to tamp down the politically explosive issue.
Yesterday, there were three such statements, as news stories about the remarks were posted online. First, during a press conference on an unrelated topic, Patrick said that the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority is focusing on "efficiencies and savings first."
Later, Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen, whose remarks triggered the renewed debate, issued a similar statement, asserting that he will pursue other changes before turning to new tolls.
And finally, by day's end, administration spokesman Kyle Sullivan reiterated that "tolls throughout I-93 are not an option the administration is prepared to consider at this point."
But earlier in the day Cohen asked the staff at the Turnpike Authority to pay for a formal traffic study that would count vehicles along the Zakim Bridge and the Tip O'Neill Tunnel, both on the I-93 corridor. The numbers would be used to evaluate whether it would make sense to add tolls there and whether the current system of tolls is fair.
There are currently tolls on the Massachusetts Turnpike, Tobin Bridge, and the tunnels beneath Boston Harbor, but not on I-93, the main north-south thoroughfare.
"Everything is on the table here, and we need to look in all corners," Cohen said during the Turnpike Authority Board's monthly meeting, which he chairs.
"Whether we will find the money in all corners, I don't know," he said. "But we need to look in all corners."
When asked after the meeting whether the traffic count was a signal that he was ready to consider tolls on I-93, Cohen was noncommittal.
"It just means that I want to have as complete a picture as possible," he said.
The board has spent months discussing whether the current toll system is fair.
A group of transportation professionals, asked to look at the fairness issue and find ways to raise more money to pay for basic operations and road repairs at the struggling turnpike, presented a list of 37 options yesterday. The group plans to deliver a more complete report to the board by July, triggering an expected summerlong debate about toll changes.
The list includes some changes that the Turnpike Authority can make on its own, such as reducing the discount offered through a special carpool program, raising tolls on Interstate 90, and bringing back the West Newton toll plaza.
Other possible changes would require legislative approval. These include charging tolls on I-93, asking the Legislature to give the Turnpike Authority more money every year to maintain the tunnels, and reducing the toll discount given to residents of some Boston neighborhoods.
"There are 37 possible tolling options," Cohen said. "As far as I'm concerned, they're all on an even playing field."
Even if the state decided to charge tolls on I-93, drivers are unlikely to see traditional tollbooths that would slow traffic on the busy route.
Tolling authorities in other states are increasingly using sensors to charge drivers, similar to the Fast Lane program in Massachusetts, but without the need for cars to slow down. Drivers who don't own electronic transponders are billed after cameras shoot pictures of their license plates.
The toll group suggested another possibility: converting the existing carpool lane to an express lane that solo drivers could have access to by paying more in exchange for a faster commute.
Cohen said he would also like to look at charging higher rates on toll roads during rush hour "as part of the mix," a strategy intended to even out traffic patterns and reduce congestion.
The Federal Highway Administration would also have to approve any additional tolls along I-93. The express lane has been the most popular of those options nationally and probably the easiest way to win approval.
It is important that any added toll along an interstate highway does not tie up traffic, said Nancy Singer, spokeswoman for the Federal Highway Administration.
Adding tolls to I-93 in the Boston area would be difficult logistically. Because there are so many routes in and out of the city, drivers could cut through Charlestown, Dorchester, Quincy, Medford, Somerville, or South Boston to avoid tolls.
John C. Drake of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Noah Bierman can be reached at nbierman@globe.com. 