RE “Epic 45-mile traffic backup should prompt Pike changes” (Editorial, Oct. 11): My first reaction when I read the comment from Frank DePaola, highway division administrator for the state Department of Transportation, was: Do the citizens exist to serve the state, or does the state exist to serve the citizens? In reaction to the traffic jam of Columbus Day weekend, DePaola said, “Unless there is a safety issue, I have taken the position that we are not waiving tolls.” Does he have no regard for any inconvenience that policy would cause? He is wrong that a major backup is not a safety issue; if a health issue or injury occurs in such a backup, can emergency responders react as quickly? I think not.
Frank Pychewicz
Comments
Tolls on the Pike should be illegal since it is highway robbery. There is no reason for endangering the public no to mention the gross injustice in the huge delays. Would consumers put up with 45 mile waiting lines at supermarket checkouts? or a walmart or target? Then we should not accept this torture from the State. If the wait is not reasonable then we should not be forced to pay for the product.
How about what's fair? I pay to use the pike with the expectation that I will save time over alternate routes.
When backups occur, that eliminate any advantage the pike offers, why should anyone pay?