HARRISBURG PA – There was good news Monday (July 18, 2011), or – depending on your feelings for the subject – bad news, from the state’s Transportation Funding Advisory Commission regarding the future of tolling on U.S. Route 422 between King of Prussia and Reading, The Pennsylvania Independent online news service reported.

The commission, charged by Gov. Tom Corbett to study the needs of and future financing for the state’s transportation and mass transit infrastructure, apparently will not recommend the tolling of any specific highways or state roads, its chairman and state Secretary of Transportation Barry Schoch told The Independent.

However, Schoch added, commission members will suggest approval of “enabling legislation” for tolling decisions to be made later.

If someday accepted by the Legislature, a law that enables Montgomery, Chester and Berks counties (or others in similar circumstances) to establish tolling authorities would likely give those bodies the ability to collect and use toll money for dedicated purposes, such as transportation improvements in the Route 422 corridor.

The commission has been at work in recent months to better understand Pennsylvania’s transportation challenges. Its meetings included a presentation, made by county officials and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Authority, on a proposal to toll 422. Commissioners completed their work Monday and will submit a final report to the governor next week.

Schoch indicated the commission will recommend increasing taxes on wholesale fuel sales, which would raise prices for motorists at the gas pump; and increasing vehicle registration and drivers’ license fees. Overall, the commission’s recommendations are expected to increase transportation funding by $2.5 billion annually within five years, The Independent reported.

State Sen. John Rafferty, who represents Pottstown, Lower Pottsgrove, and Limerick PA, and who serves as chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, will review the report and wait to hear the governor’s position before taking action, his executive director, Nathan Spade, told The Independent.

• Read a story by reporter Eric Boehm, titled “Commission recommends higher vehicle and driver fees, gas tax increase” and published Monday by The Independent, here.

Separate from The Independent’s story, local municipal government managers and other officials were said to have met Monday night in Limerick for a discussion of the 422 proposal. The content of that meeting was not revealed to The Post.

Related (to U.S. Route 422 Corridor planning):

• Report Expected To Suggest Law For Road Toll Authority
• I-95 A Big Problem; 422 A Solvable Problem (With Tolls)
• Even With Tolling, 422 Might Be Free (For A Few Miles)
• County Candidates Brown, Castor Oppose 422 Tolling
• Quigley, Other Reps Questioning 422 Tolls Proposal
• 422 Toll Proposal Wins Some PA Commission Backers
• Exec Highway Group To Hear Rt. 422 Tolling As ‘Model’
• 422 Questions Answered, For Your Viewing Pleasure
• In 422 Tolling, Planners Say, Studying Doesn’t Make It So
• Former Reporter Asks Commissioners To Support 422 Tolls
• Online Survey Seeks Opinions On Local Road Congestion
• 422 Plus Project Plays Offense With FAQs Debut
• Peering Into The Future? Gov’s Bridge Proposal And 422
• Another Township Endorses 422 Master Plan
• Neighboring Limerick Supervisors Endorse 422 Master Plan
• Understand 422 Plan Endorsement, Lower Pottsgrove Advised
• Lower Pottsgrove Holds On 422 Plan Endorsement
• Engineers Claim PA Roads Worse Now Than In 2006
• Tuesday Session Tackles Funding For 422 And Elsewhere
• Tolls, Lower Pottsgrove Station Part Of 422 Plan
• Pending Decision May Affect Route 422 Projects
• Last Day For Your Say On Route 422 Plan
• Notebook Worthy (Aug. 24, 2009)
• Consultants Express Interest In Studying 422
• Don’t Like 422 Tolling? Website Wants Your Alternative
• Truckers Alerted On Highway Partnerships Bill
• In 422 Debate, Time A Hindrance And Help
• Notebook Worthy (June 29, 2009)
• Growth, Planners Say, Is 422’s Growing Problem
• Tech Used To Draw For 422 Meetings
• Route 422 Toll Meetings Next Week
• 422 Repairs, Delays Start Tuesday
• 422 Proposal, Like Traffic, Creeps Ahead
• Got A Route 422 Idea? Time To Air It
• Train Service On The Front Burner Once More

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