Stop the pike hike

December 11, 1:40 PMBoston Happenings ExaminerAnthony Crowe

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Image courtesy Stop The Pike Hike/stopthepikehike.com

STOP THE PIKE HIKE!

The sentiment sounds simple enough... but across the state, as our politicians try to reconcile major shortfalls, advocacy groups are up in arms about the tough toll hikes undertaken by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. 

Stop The Pike Hike is one such organization. They have organized the Boston Toll Party, a boycott of toll roads across Massachusetts which is scheduled for Tuesday, December 16. The boycott is rife with symbolism as it occurs on the anniversary of the Boston tea party, and is similarly framed as an issue of unfair taxation.

The organization notes that the toll hikes will dramatically impact commuting on two major routes: the tunnels that access the airport as well as the roads that access Allston and Brighton. According to Stop The Pike Hike, the fare increases have altered commuting costs in a significant way across the board for those who use either of these routes.

At the Ted Williams and Sumner tunnels:

• $7 for cars paying cash (currently $3.50)
• $6 for cars using Fast Lane (currently $3)
• $9 for 2-axle for commercial vehicles (currently $5.25)
• $3.50 per axle for all other commercial vehicles

At the Allston-Brighton tolls:

• $2 for cars paying cash (currently $1.25)
• $1.50 for cars using Fast Lane (currently $1)
• $1 per axle for commercial vehicles

“There are five people who are seeking to raise my costs on the tolls and I didn’t vote for them and neither did anyone else in Massachusetts,” said Spencer Kimball, director of the organization. Referencing the famous words of Reverend Jonathan Mayhew in the eighteenth century, the director criticizes these acts as "taxation without representation."

Stop The Pike Hike has orchestrated the boycott only as one facet of a much broader activist approach that includes an online petition and sticker campaign. They have asked that the public speak out against the unreasonable hikes, providing information to contact the governor's office, your local politicians, and the board of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. The organization also encourages interested parties to attend the remaining public hearings that are scheduled for Lynn, Framingham, and Worcester.

Stop The Pike Hike is still looking for volunteers and accepting donations to support their cause.