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A bridge, a commuter ferry and your local highway are all alike
March 16, 2012

Some members of the NC General Assembly have been insinuating that people in eastern North Carolina are being selfish because we don’t want to pay a ferry toll.

We ask that you put yourself in our seat… or better yet, in the driver’s seat of your car.   Imagine the major highway in your hometown, the highway that connects you to your work, or church, or hospital. Without that road there, you’d be driving many miles further, and spending more time and gas doing so. Now imagine the General Assembly mandates that your hometown highway become a toll road starting April 1, 2012. To use that road you’ve ridden for decades will now cost you $4 each time you travel on it.

For the people in Pamlico and Beaufort counties the commuter ferries are our highways. (Check your NC highway map: Highway 306 extends over the water.) These ferry routes are part of the state highway system, just like tunnels, and bridges and your hometown highway. We all pay our highway taxes to support these vital functions.

So the next time you hear a General Assembly member paint us as greedy for not wanting to pay a ferry toll, think about tolling your hometown highway. The people who are opposing the ferry toll are like you. We go to work. We pay our taxes. And just like you, we don’t want to be double taxed to use our hometown highway.

Greg Piner
Oriental, NC