Dans Papers - May 25, 2007

Pay as you go. Most people think that's a good idea. Whether it's government financing roads, newlyweds furnishing a home, or parents struggling to put a child through college. I've never met anyone who thought piling up debt was the way to go. Most of us prefer to open our wallets, pull out a few dollars, and pay up. Get it over with.

But now there's a twist to pay as you go. It's the suggestion by the mayor of New York City that those driving into the city be charged $8 for each visit. That's pay as you go, right? And if you go five days a week, 50 or so weeks a year, that's $2,000. By the way, the mayor's idea isn't an original. How does $15 a car sound? That's the fee in London-town during peak traffic hours. What's the spoonful of sugar that helps that medicine go down?

It's been decades since I lived in a distant NYC borough, so I can't speak with authority about Mr. Mayor's plan, but I'm thinking North Fork. Could the plan work here? How would it be administered? What would the benefits be? Let's see. Start with those benefits. No question about congestion. Main Road is creepy-crawl and Route 48 is saturated speed. So take your choice. A fee would reduce the number of cars from up west. And the fees collected might be used for projects not yet realized. Like a North Fork public indoor pool.

Would the fee be $8 like Mayor Mike's proposal? Why not? We've got everything NYC has plus Tanger Outlet and grapes. I'm willing to make a concession, though. For our South Fork friends and Shelter Island neighbors, the car fee might be reduced. Does $3 seem reasonable? Good.

I realize there are several ways to approach the North Fork by car. I'll focus only on the major routes - the LIE and Route 25, Route 105 from the South Fork, and Cross Sound and North ferries.

Ferries first. That's easiest. The new North Fork nuisance fee need not be collected as vehicles exit ferries to the North Fork. Indeed, the cost can be added to the charge ferry-goers pay as they drive onboard in New London or Shelter Island. That way by the time drivers arrive in Orient Point or Greenport they've forgotten about the extra cost and are ready for North Fork pleasures. Now the LIE and Route 25. This is a difficult situation if only for the great number of cars heading east. We could have a check point at Tanger - each vehicle would be diverted (where the LIE and Route 25 merge) and then stopped in order to North Fork over the $8. But that would mean delays unimaginable. So for LIE and Route 25 drivers, an E-Z Fork card is my answer. Like E-Z Pass, the card would allow motorists to speed on by so they can enjoy the slow pace of our North Fork.

Finally are those heading our way on Route 105. Most of these folks are South Fork friends. Their reduced fee will be $3, collected at a stop just south of Route 25 (yet to be constructed but much like a tourist information center on an upstate road). Because these drivers are special friends, we may even serve them some grape juice as they drive on by, turning west to Riverhead or east to Orient.

If you fear the $8 fee will discourage tourism on the North Fork, don't worry. Folks will still come our way on the Long Island Rail Road. Think what that means for the four North Fork towns with LIRR stations. Visitors getting off the railroad in Riverhead can walk all over - to Atlantis Marine World, the East End Arts Council or, concerts in Pulaski school. Get off in Mattituck? Walk to the Strawberry Festival, Love Lane shops, or take in a movie. Traveling on to the Southold station? Visitors can stop in Town Hall and chat with Southold supervisor, Scott Russell. Then to downtown Southold where the Historical Society may be holding its ice cream social. Traveling to the end of the line? In Greenport, walk to everything from the railroad station. Carousel, maritime and railroad museums, even ice skating if it's winter.

There you have it. The North Fork auto fee seems a solution to our traffic problem and a boon for our fork's economy. I just hope they don't turn the tables on us.