Pike pique

In the 1997 referendum campaign on widening the Maine Turnpike, voters were told the $128 million needed to make the state’s premier highway safer, smoother and faster would come from toll increases.

The fury with which motorists and legislators greeted the Maine Turnpike Authority’s initial proposal to do what it said it would begs this question: On what turnpike did they think the tolls would be increased? The Pennsylvania?

The furor has subsided. The authority, after gauging the outrage and factoring into the equation higher-than-expected summer receipts, came back with a Plan B that seems acceptable. Happy motoring.

Still, a sour taste remains. At a time when perspective and compromise was needed, the legislative response was a just a bit over the top. Several bills were introduced to abolish the authority and to hand the turnpike over to the Maine Department of Transportation. That’s not a new idea and it may not be a bad idea (although it sounded a lot better before MDOT built a drawbridge that won’t work in cold weather), but it’s one that should be discussed and debated in a calm, rational way, not in a fit of pique.

Turnpike Executive Director Paul Violette admitted the authority was “a tad overzealous” in trying to equalize tolls between short-hoppers and long-haulers. Zealotry, at least at the tad level, may be a flaw but it certainly is not a capital offense.

What is particularly disturbing is that, with so many freshmen lawmakers on the scene, those in leadership positions are not guiding the newcomers, but handing out the torches and pitchforks instead. House Minority Leader Thomas Murphy talked about a “toll revolt.” Senate President Mark Lawrence suggested a toll increase would not be necessary at all if the turnpike just stopped making its annual $4.7 million contribution to the Highway Fund.

That is a singularly bad suggestion. One of the primary selling points of the widening project was that the turnpike is a money-maker for the state, that the contribution was a way to get out-of-staters to help maintain roads and bridges throughout Maine, that it allowed Mainers who don’t have access to the turnpike to derive some benefit from it. A deal should be a deal.

Speaking of deals, it’s too bad no legislators bothered to remind turnpike drivers what a deal they’re getting. There’s a lot of working stiffs in Eastern Maine who’d love to have a modern, six-lane, high-speed highway for the daily commute. They’d give just about anything for the opportunity. They certainly give 50 cents a day.

What’s most alarming about this episode is that it’s not unique. Just a few weeks into the session, the 119th seems determined to explore new frontiers in over-reaction.

Embarrassed by a hopper stuffed with an absurd 2,900 bills, lawmakers attempt to deflect attention from this lack of discipline by passing a rule to limit a governor’s ability to propose legislation, clearly contrary to the intent of the Maine Constitution. Confronted with the obvious, that it is unwise for Maine to continue to borrow for routine highway maintenance, lawmakers throw a fit over Gov. King’s fuel-tax proposal yet have nothing better to offer. And now this totally uncalled for road rage.

Maine needs problem solvers in Augusta, not trouble makers. Perhaps it’s not too late for this Legislature to direct its energy in a more constructive way. Otherwise, buckle up and hang on tight. It’s going to be a bumpy biennium.