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So, there you are on a day off from work, tooling along in your truck, towing your boat and heading to the Bay Area for a nice day of fishing.
Better hope they're biting, because you're going to have to pony up.
Under a proposal to be voted on Wednesday, the $8.25 bridge toll you now pay for driving a truck and two-axle trailer eventually will shoot up to $20.
It's part of a package of toll increases proposed for Bay Area bridges that is designed to raise $750 million for seismic work and other needs, and it's not sitting well with some anglers.
"It's outrageous," said Joe "Sep" Hendrickson, a fisherman for the past 50 years and host of a Sacramento radio show for outdoor types. "They're not raising our taxes, they're just charging more for everything we do."
The proposed increases, to be considered Wednesday morning by the Bay Area Toll Authority, would take place in phases extending to July 2012.
The proposal calls for the tolls assessed on cars and light trucks to increase from $4 to $5 on the Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael and San Mateo-Hayward bridges.
On the Bay Bridge, the $4 toll would remain in place during non-peak weekday periods, with a $6 toll in place from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. On weekends the toll would be $5.
But the real hit would be felt by people driving something other than two-axle cars or light trucks.
Driving across one of the bridges with a trailer in tow would subject drivers to a fee of $5 per axle. So, for instance, if you are heading across in a two-axle pickup with a two-axle trailer ferrying your fishing boat, you'll pay for all four axles. That's $20, up from the $8.25 now charged.
"We don't make any distinction between the type of vehicle," said John Goodwin, spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission in Oakland. "It's strictly axle-based."
The funds raised through the increases would go toward seismic retrofitting on the Antioch and Dumbarton bridges and offset a slow but steady decrease in traffic on the bridges in recent years, Goodwin said.
Bridge tolls for cars were $1 as recently as 1992, and increased from $3 to $4 in January 2007.
The latest proposal was adjusted following public hearings, Goodwin said. The idea of phasing in the increases through 2012 came after concerns were raised by heavy truck operators, whose costs are locked into long-term contracts with shippers.
But others – anglers and people who drive motor homes and campers – did not raise a major fuss. Fishermen were "not a constituency that was heard from in a big way," Goodwin said.
Hendrickson, who hosts the "California Sportsmen" show Saturday mornings on KHTK (1140 AM), is not surprised, saying it is difficult to get anglers and other outdoors people to band together on issues.
But the impact may be felt widely if people decide they don't want to pay $20 to cross a bridge or put their boats in an area of the Delta where they don't have to pay.
"That affects all the little businesses that are selling fuel, bait and accessories to them," said Bob Gorman, executive director of the Sacramento Valley Marine Association. "It's not good for anyone."
Gorman said some people may decide it's just not worth the effort to head out for a day of fishing in the Bay Area.
"I first started paying 25 cents to go across the Bay Bridge, and they told me the Bay Bridge was going to be paid for in full by 1960," he said. "Well, guess what? We're still paying for it."
More...
Better hope they're biting, because you're going to have to pony up.
Under a proposal to be voted on Wednesday, the $8.25 bridge toll you now pay for driving a truck and two-axle trailer eventually will shoot up to $20.
It's part of a package of toll increases proposed for Bay Area bridges that is designed to raise $750 million for seismic work and other needs, and it's not sitting well with some anglers.
"It's outrageous," said Joe "Sep" Hendrickson, a fisherman for the past 50 years and host of a Sacramento radio show for outdoor types. "They're not raising our taxes, they're just charging more for everything we do."
The proposed increases, to be considered Wednesday morning by the Bay Area Toll Authority, would take place in phases extending to July 2012.
The proposal calls for the tolls assessed on cars and light trucks to increase from $4 to $5 on the Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael and San Mateo-Hayward bridges.
On the Bay Bridge, the $4 toll would remain in place during non-peak weekday periods, with a $6 toll in place from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. On weekends the toll would be $5.
But the real hit would be felt by people driving something other than two-axle cars or light trucks.
Driving across one of the bridges with a trailer in tow would subject drivers to a fee of $5 per axle. So, for instance, if you are heading across in a two-axle pickup with a two-axle trailer ferrying your fishing boat, you'll pay for all four axles. That's $20, up from the $8.25 now charged.
"We don't make any distinction between the type of vehicle," said John Goodwin, spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission in Oakland. "It's strictly axle-based."
The funds raised through the increases would go toward seismic retrofitting on the Antioch and Dumbarton bridges and offset a slow but steady decrease in traffic on the bridges in recent years, Goodwin said.
Bridge tolls for cars were $1 as recently as 1992, and increased from $3 to $4 in January 2007.
The latest proposal was adjusted following public hearings, Goodwin said. The idea of phasing in the increases through 2012 came after concerns were raised by heavy truck operators, whose costs are locked into long-term contracts with shippers.
But others – anglers and people who drive motor homes and campers – did not raise a major fuss. Fishermen were "not a constituency that was heard from in a big way," Goodwin said.
Hendrickson, who hosts the "California Sportsmen" show Saturday mornings on KHTK (1140 AM), is not surprised, saying it is difficult to get anglers and other outdoors people to band together on issues.
But the impact may be felt widely if people decide they don't want to pay $20 to cross a bridge or put their boats in an area of the Delta where they don't have to pay.
"That affects all the little businesses that are selling fuel, bait and accessories to them," said Bob Gorman, executive director of the Sacramento Valley Marine Association. "It's not good for anyone."
Gorman said some people may decide it's just not worth the effort to head out for a day of fishing in the Bay Area.
"I first started paying 25 cents to go across the Bay Bridge, and they told me the Bay Bridge was going to be paid for in full by 1960," he said. "Well, guess what? We're still paying for it."
More...
