I've been meaning to sound off on this one for some time now so here goes...

$7 tolls WTF?! I don't even know where to begin.

Yes, it unfairly targets Eastie! And yes, it will create even heavier traffic along the already congested strip of 16 that runs through Everett (EJ violations abound!!!!). But what's really got my blood boiling is the fact that I DON'T WANT TO PAY $7 TO LEAVE THIS SIDE OF BOSTON. And you know what? I shouldn't have to!

Listen, don't get me wrong. I'm a loyal MBTA subject, er rider. I quite enjoy riding the Blue Line in and out of Boston. And heck, if time permits when I do happen to be driving, I do my best to avoid the tunnels altogether. But as a resident of Winthrop, a neighbor of East Boston, when push comes to shove, if I find myself needing to hit the highways chances are I'm passing through a tunnel to do it. And I'm sorry, but I just don't think I should have to reach into my pocket to fork over $7 bucks to get through the Sumner or Williams, $2 to get to the Pike, and oh, let's say another $4 to get off the Pike should I opt to visit some friends in CT.

The very real possibility that  MTA tolls may double and SOON has got me beyond peeved! It wasn't so long ago, within the last year actually, that MTA raised the Williams and Sumner tolls by $0.50 - from $3 to $3.50. I remember being taken aback by the increase, but unable to do much about it, I begrudgingly began handing over my two extra quarters per trip. Like most on this shore, I quietly accepted that if I wanted to get out of town, I had no choice. And besides, what's $0.50? It certainly didn't hurt that at the time I was a gainfully employed young professional, but regardless, even if I were not a grad student, a $7 toll seems exorbitant, unreasonable, unfair!!!

And it's merely a proposed means of paying down the agency's ridiculously high debt and to to pay for maintenance - both of which are absolutely necessary, but at what cost? I'd probably feel a little better about the whole thing if the money were going to expand the blue line, create more stops and make the cities and towns on the North Shore more readily accessible by public transit. But that's not where the money is intended to go. Instead it's merely going to keep an aging system on life support. It's just a bad idea all around.

Certainly, I want East Boston to thrive. Anyone who's joined me at Satarpio's (SantAHpeeos) knows why. And like most I think the last thing Everett needs is more traffic-induced air and noise pollution. But if neither of these arguments appeal to people, then let me just throw this out there. I, Eugenia, and all my fellow North Shore peeps SHOULD NOT HAVE TO GO BROKE TO LITERALLY GET FROM ONE SIDE OF TOWN TO THE OTHER QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY.

There has to be a better way to finance routine maintenance than toll increases. Increased gas tax anyone? Or, better yet, start making Eastie residents pay $3.50 like the rest of us instead of just a few cents.  Do something, anything, but DON'T RAISE MY TUNNEL TOLLS PLEASE!