Three years later an online petition, created by a Richmond woman, calling for a reduction or outright end to tolls on the Confederation Bridge is still going strong.
If you’re an Islander active on social media, chances are you may have noticed this petition making the rounds on the internet.
In June of 2015 Taylor MacDougall created the petition on the website www.change.org. It calls for the, now $47, toll for crossing the bridge to be removed or at the very least reduced.
“The Confederation Bridge needs to be affordable for both Islanders and visitors, the cost of living is steadily going up but wages are not on par. Bridge costs need to be eliminated, or at the very least, discounted a significant amount,” it reads.
MacDougall created the petition after an extended stay in hospital off Island, during which her family and friends had to spend a considerable amount of money on bridge tolls alone.
“I understand there is maintenance fees and staff to pay, but I still really feel the toll should be lowered. It does not have to be almost $50 every time (you cross), there is so much traffic on it,” she said.
The petition made something of a splash when it was first released, garnering local media attention and once again touched off a public debate about the bridge tolls.
MacDougall originally set the petition’s goal for 5,000 signatures but it quickly blew past that number and kept climbing, fueled mostly by social media sharing. It got to about 20,000 signatures before petering out after a few months. It was at this point that MacDougall turned off the option allowing new signatures.
“It had died off and everyone I knew already signed it,” she said.
However, in the summer of 2017 she took a second look at the document and decided to make a new push for signatures.
But it was only recently when the counter started shooting up again, gaining more than 2,000 signatures in a few days. As of Friday it had more than 23,000 signatures, with a goal of 25,000.
MacDougall isn’t really sure why it seems to have taken off again, but she believes it has something to do with a recent increase in the toll, which went up 50 cents at the start of the year.
The petition will continue to set new goals automatically as each is reached, as long as she keeps the option open.
She’s interested to see how high it will climb – and if it anyone with political clout will take heed.
“I just really hope that this petition will get attention from the individual in government who can help us make a change for Islanders,” she said.
The Confederation Bridge is currently operated by private company Strait Crossing, and is scheduled to continue to be so until 2032 when the federal government will take over.
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