The toll to cross the Pell Bridge out of Newport just went up to $4, double what it was before if you paid cash. The only folks getting a break are the ones with a Rhode Island E-ZPass transponder. They still pay only 83 cents. Those of us who got our E-ZPasses elsewhere pay…$4.
So, I understand that this is a way to allow commuters to use the bridge every day while getting more dough from tourists, but it annoys me because I don’t have a Rhode Island E-ZPass. Sure, I guess I could get one, but I’m only going to live here another five months.
(Holy crap. Really? Only 5 months? I’ve got a lot to do…More on that later.)
I’ll probably break down and get one anyway.
Anyway, Friday, when it rained, Sean was trying my patience, and I had a bunch of coupons for Borders Books burning a hole in my pocket.
Danielle got done early at work, so, once we had Sean up from his nap, dressed, and snacked, we piled into the car and headed out of Newport, trying to decide whether to go all the way to the Providence Borders or to just go to Cranston.
Then we remembered the new toll.
“Why don’t we just go to Barnes & Noble and go to Mama Luisa’s for dinner? The $8 in tolls will pretty much wipe out whatever your coupons would save.”
That extra $8 makes pretty much every trip we could take over the bridge seem very silly. Of course, most of trips over the bridge are silly, anyway, but now they would be even sillier.
And what about the folks who will now think twice about making that day trip to Newport, now that they’ll not only have to swallow the 20 bucks it costs to park in this town, but also the 8 bucks in tolls?
wow, that is a steep toll. When we lived in Newport for 8 months, I think I only left the island a handful of times. I never really experienced island fever. Although there were a few moments of road rage on Thames St. Tourists!!!