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That is why toll booths on Interstate 80 across northern Pennsylvania — at least a two-hour drive from Lancaster — are important to people in Lancaster, said David Kilmer, executive director of Red Rose Transit Authority.
At Kilmer's urging, members of the RRTA board on Wednesday unanimously approved a resolution in support of placing tolls on Interstate 80.
The resolution, which will be sent to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, supports PennDOT's latest application for the tolling. The previous application was denied last year after federal officials sought more information on the plan.
What's important to Lancaster and Red Rose Transit, Kilmer said, is that without tolls on the 312 miles of interstate highway, RRTA could be out $270,000 in support from the state beginning in July.
"That's money that we can use to match federal money. That's something that worries me a lot," Kilmer said.
"If I can't match federal money, I can't get federal money," he said of the funding that comprises 80 percent of RRTA's budget.
Tolls on the interstate coupled with fare increases on the Pennsylvania Turnpike are expected to generate $250 million annually, Kilmer said.
Toll revenue from I-80 would be used on I-80, but money now being spent by the state to maintain and improve the interstate would be diverted to public transit systems and highways across the state, he said.
That plan was included in Act 44, passed by the state legislature in 2007.
"Whether we like it or not, whether we agree with it or not, it was passed and it's the law," he said of the tolling.
People here may disagree with tolling the road as a matter of principle. People in the northern part of the state are more direct in their opposition. And, Kilmer said, they are writing letters to LaHood and other federal officials in an attempt to block the tolls.
Red Rose Transit and public transit agencies across the state, at the urging of the Pennsylvania Public Transit Association, are attempting to show support for the measure, Kilmer said.
Transit agencies see Act 44 as a chance for a stable source of revenue. Before the passage of the law, RRTA was looking at places to cut services, he reminded the board.
"If this doesn't go through, we're back in a funding crisis again," he said.
Also on Wednesday, Kilmer updated the board on the construction of an expanded downtown bus station, parking garage and an expansion for Lancaster Museum of Art.
On Tuesday workers began removing piles of earth on the site at North Queen and East Chestnut streets. The initial steps are in preparation for laying the foundation for the $15 million project. Construction for those parts of the project should take about a year, Kilmer said.
There also are plans for a 38-unit condominium tower to rise above the garage and museum. That project, which could cost another $22 million to $25 million, would be constructed as a later phase.
The garage project, being built with federal funds, will provide revenue for RRTA that will help keep the agency operating.
