HPH Annual Meeting Votes to Oppose Doubling Ferry Fares, Launches Petition Drive

On Saturday May 4 members attending the annual meeting of the Hadlyme Public Hall Association voted unanimously to oppose the proposal by Connecticut  Department of Transportation to double the Connecticut River ferry fares to $6 and agreed to launch a petition drive opposing the fare increase.

The Association immediately initiated the petition drive by creating an on-line petition at SignOn.org. Those wishing to sign the petition can go to the following web page to add their name to the petition: http://signon.org/sign/oppose-doubling-connecticut?source=c.url&r_by=6128265

Paper petitions will also be circulated throughout the communities served by the two Conn River ferries., the Chester-Hadlyme Ferry and the Rocky Hill-Glastonbury Ferry.

All the petitions will be presented to the state DOT officials who will be making the decision on whether to raise the fares and by how much.

The position adopted by the members at the meeting states that the Association opposes the state's proposal to double the fares and instead urges the state to give serious consider to other alternatives that could increase revenues, including:

-- Increasing posted fare prices but provide a discount for cars with Connecticut license plates.

-- Institute a system of On-peak & Off-peak pricing (similar to that used by commuter railroads) that would charge higher fares on weekends and holidays when there are usually long lines of cars waiting to ride the ferries.

-- Increase hours of operation on weekends and holidays to take advantage of generating more fares when ridership demand is the highest.

-- In addition to the current discount ticket books, offer a flat "annual pass" fare with a sticker to place on cars to identify those who have purchased the pass.

-- Working with state tourism and parks agencies, aggressively promote both Connecticut River ferries to tourists and visitors.

Connecticut DOT will be holding public hearings on the proposed fare increases on May 20 & 22. Hadlyme Hall Association President Curt Michael urged all those conerned about or effected by the proposed fare increase to sign the petition and to attend the public hearings.

For more info on the fare increase proposal and the public hearings, go to the following web page:   http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?A=1373&Q=522372


Hadlyme Public Hall Association is a century-old not-for-profit community organization whose membership is open to all. Its current membership represents more 140 households in Hadlyme and the surrounding area. More information about the Association and its historic public hall, go to: www.hadlymehall. com