‘Disaster’ looms with Pike-dodging drivers

Frustrated Mass Pike motorists plotting every possible alternative route into the Hub in revolt over proposed toll hikes have local communities bracing for a suburban gridlock nightmare.

“Newton and Brighton in particular are potential disasters,” said Natick Democrat Rep. David P. Linsky, who also worries that Framingham and Natick businesses will suffer because workers and customers won’t want to pay to drive to Metrowest.

Tolls of $2 at the Weston and Allston-Brighton booths and a staggering $7 for the airport tunnels could trigger a Turnpike tipping point with Newton and Everett and other edge cities sure to suffer.

“I’m definitely afraid of it,” said Newton Alderman Scott Lennon, who lives two minutes from the Pike’s busy Exit 17.

“Ultimately, this is a serious quality of life issue. It’s not just Newton. Anybody that travels along that corridor will be impacted,” he said.

Newton aldermen were expected to meet yesterday with the mayor and state lawmakers for a briefing on the potential for traffic tie-ups should the hefty toll hike package go through.

Over in Everett, where penny-pinching drivers already cut through to avoid the Tobin Bridge toll, the traffic could soon become colossal.

“We’re going to see a major influx of cars,” said Everett Common Council President Lorrie Bruno.

Some areas will be hit harder than others if the latest proposed increases are approved, possibly as early as February after two public hearings.

Newton residents who live on Route 16 already have a hard time getting out of their driveways in the morning, said Joan McGrath, who has lived on Route 16, which is also Washington Street, for 45 years. She blames the jams on toll increases and on the free on-and-off Pike exit in West Newton.

“The traffic is totally horrendous,” she said.

Pike Executive Director Alan LeBovidge downplayed the local traffic effects, saying commuters will quickly realize “the Pike to be the fastest way to and from Boston.”

But this time, say drivers, it’s about the money.

“For $7, I’d avoid the tolls,” said Joe Reid, 44, of Winchester, who was at Logan International Airport yesterday.

Some Metrowest drivers could pay an extra $500 a year or more to commute to the city under a plan approved by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority last week. The Allston/Brighton and Weston tolls would jump from $1.25 to $2 and airport tolls would increase from $3.50 to $7 for cash customers.

Christy Mihos, a former Pike board member and gubernatorial candidate, said it’s all just one big mess in the making.