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Overcast Atlantic Beach Bridge toll hike and meeting set up upsets motorists
A meeting aimed at soothing concerns about the coming increase in tolls for the Atlantic Beach Bridge did the opposite on Dec. 15, as bridge users who attended the gathering became angry when they were jammed into the Nassau County Bridge Authority office’s snack room, waiting for their questions to be answered.
Before answering any of them, the authority, which oversees operation of the 70-year-old bridge, held a meeting via Zoom behind closed doors, which lasted roughly an hour. Then, from its meeting room on the second floor, authority members called people up one by one, while those remaining downstairs watched on a television screen.
“Very rude, very inconsiderate,” Atlantic Beach resident Audrey Mordos said.
The maximum capacity of the snack room was 30 people, but at the start of the night, more than 40 crowded into it, When the public hearing began, however, the number dropped to 25 when the participants realized that the bridge authority would not address them in person.
This is the first time bridge tolls have been raised since 2007 — from $2 to $3 for passenger vehicles and, eventually, to $4 for motorists whose vehicles are not registered in Nassau County. “The new toll rate schedule was approved in 2022 after a rigorous review process, and there will be no further planned increases for the next five years,” bridge authority officials stated in a news release earlier this month.
The authority is also implementing an electronic tolling system for the first time. The use of E-ZPass is set to begin next spring.
“We’re new. We have a different vision, and we’re trying to maintain this place,” authority Chairman Samuel Nahmias said. “The bridge has a lifespan of 80 years, and it’s 71 years old. It’s getting to that point, and we want to make sure it continues to operate right.”
In a Dec. 13 news release, bridge authority officials said they “will make the customer’s driving experience safer and timelier.”
Atlantic Beach resident and business owner Shelley Martin said she thinks otherwise. “I don’t care about E-ZPass or the toll takers,” Martin said. “What I care about are the people who live here.”
Many of the attendees expressed their frustration with the authority’s plan to charge vehicles registered outside the county — which can be discerned by their E-ZPass transponders — $4 instead of the new $3 fare, regardless of whether their drivers live in Nassau County.
The fee for an annual decal for Nassau County residents will rise from $130 to $199.
For the first time ever, Nahmias said, barrier island residents will receive a discount on the annual fee, and be charged $162.50. The annual decal fee for vehicles registered outside Nassau County, however, will jump from $175 to $349.
“I have a company car, but because the car comes from a leasing company, it’s registered in another state with a New York state license plate,” Martin said. “I’m a resident. Why should I have to pay $349 to go to work every day? It shouldn’t matter where your car is registered. My license says Atlantic Beach. Why, if you’re a resident of Atlantic Beach, I’m penalized?”
Nahmias said he would reconsider the $349 fee for bridge users whose vehicles are registered elsewhere but who live locally.
“Hopefully, when the dust settles, and E-ZPass is brought in, we can then review a commuter discount, and we’re looking into that,” Nahmias said.
Atlantic Beach resident Ronald Jaspan expected a much larger showing. “Where are all these people tonight?” he said, referring to several Facebook groups of Atlantic Beach residents who had expressed their disapproval of the rise in tolls. “It would’ve sent a message to them,” Jaspan added of the bridge authority.
Have an opinion on the toll increase and the installation of E-ZPass on the Atlantic Beach Bridge? Send a letter to jbessen@liherald.com.
