A lawsuit filed against the New York State Thruway Authority is back on track after being dismissed due to a technicality. According to the companies bringing the lawsuit which include the ATA, trucking companies, and multiple trade groups, the tolls charged on the NY Thruway are unconstitutional.
It’s not that the ATA is arguing that the tolls are too high, they’re arguing that they’re being used improperly. The lawsuit claims that the biggest issue is that a significant percentage of toll revenue is being used to fund non-Thruway related projects – a violation of the state’s constitution.
According to the court decision that re-opened the case, 10-12% of Thruway tolls actually go toward maintaining and developing the Canal System that runs through the state. The canals used to be a highly valuable way to transport goods and it was a commercial boon, but according to the court, “the New York Canal System has faded into obsolescence” and only bring in around $2 million in revenue each year. That’s not a lot, especially when you consider that they cost between $80-$100 million to maintain and that those funds could go a long way if applied toward the failing bridges and roads in the state.
But it may not be as simple as just no longer funding the canal – that money has to come from somewhere. It’s laid out in the constitution of the state that New York “obligates the legislature to support he canals financially.” Opponents of canal funding coming from the Thruway have pointed out that the laws were originally put in place when the canals were hugely important to the economic health of the state as they had been when they were first built in the 19th century. Perhaps, they say, it may be time to take the burden of maintaining these now almost exclusively recreational waterways off of the backs of the businesses who are driving the economy in the present day.
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Source: lockportjournal, timesunion, nypost, oneidadispatch, ccjdigital, uscourts
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