On Feb. 18, the OBSERVER published my letter which raised some issues about the Thruway. On Feb. 25, the OBSERVER published a letter by Frank Hoare which was purportedly a response. At least I think it was supposed to be a response because Mr. Hoare, interim executive director of the New York State Thruway Authority, opened by stating that he would like to “clarify some facts.”

I looked forward to reading his piece because I often make mistakes and I do welcome corrections when I am wrong. However, while his piece may have been full of ‘facts,’ it did not address a single one of the points I raised in my original letter on February 18. Maybe Mr. Hoare was taught that if a question about apples makes you uncomfortable, you should make your answer only about oranges or pears. Let us go back to the Feb. 18 letter and restate some of the questions it raised that were not answered by Mr. Hoare.

Is it a fact or not a fact that we were told during the administrations of Dewey, Harriman, and Rockefeller that the Thruway tolls would disappear as soon as the bond issues were paid?

Is it a fact or not that large amounts of the tolls paid by cars and trucks are diverted to support recreational boaters on the Barge Canal? Is there any commercial traffic on the Barge Canal? How much? Over the last several years, how many toll dollars, yearly and in aggregate, have been diverted to support the Canal? By how much could the proposed toll increase be reduced if those dollars stayed with the Thruway?

Is it a fact or not a fact that Sen. Patrick D. Moynihan labored mightily over many years to secure federal funding in the hope that tolls could be eliminated? Did New York get money from the federal government? Why did his efforts fail?

There was a state Highway Reconstruction bond issue back in the ’90s. I remember discussing with state Sen. Pat McGee that a two-cent increase in gas tax would be a better idea than a bond issue. Did the Thruway get any money out of those bonds?

The letter of Feb. 18 raised the issue of “double dipping.” When I buy gas at my local gas station a large part of the price is tax that supports highway maintenance and operations. Since I pay tolls to support the Thruway, why do Thruway gas stations also charge a tax on gasoline?

Contrary to what people may believe, there is precedent for the abolition of a long-established toll. For many years there were toll booths on the Interstate 190 in the city of Buffalo. Several years ago the toll booths at Ogden and Breckinridge were demolished and the tolls disappeared. The governments responsible for that stretch of highway found other sources of support.

Mr. Hoare’s piece had a paragraph about rest area reconstruction that raises a few questions. He called it a public-private partnership. Who is the public entity? Who is the private entity? He stated that the private investment is $450,000,000. How does the private entity expect to recoup its investment? Who is the guarantor of the private investment? As an aside, the deal between the state and Tesla on the factory in South Buffalo is a public-private partnership. If it goes bust the public taxpayer takes it on the chin. If it thrives and prospers the private entity reaps the rewards.

Final question: is it a fact or not a fact that it is time to abolish the Thruway Authority and its tolls and transfer its people and its responsibilities to the New York State Department of Transportation and the State Government of which the DOT is a part?

Larry Zollinger is a South Dayton resident.