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Most in audience at public hearing pan Gov. John Kasich's plan to lease Ohio Turnpike
Published: Tuesday, July 17, 2012, 11:00 PM Updated: Wednesday, July 18, 2012, 12:00 AM
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Most residents attending a public hearing Tuesday night in Elyria believe the Ohio Turnpike, above, is operating just fine as it is.
ELYRIA, Ohio — If the first public hearing on the issue of leasing the Ohio Turnpike is any indication of how people feel, Gov. John Kasich won't like the outcome.
Of the 77 people in attendance Tuesday, 75 raised their hands to say they are against the governor's idea of privatizing the 241-mile toll road that spans Ohio from Indiana to Pennsylvania -- and many made strong statements for keeping the status quo.
The vast majority in attendance at the Lorain County Transportation and Community Center agreed with the analysis of the Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study that concluded the turnpike is an efficiently run, revenue-producing asset and, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Ernie Peto of Olmsted Falls said leasing the turnpike would be like pawning it.
"Once you pawn a valuable watch and then spend the money, what do you have left?" he said. "We can't give away this asset."
Many in the audience cited what they said were deplorable conditions on the Indiana Turnpike, now being leased to a private company. One who registered that complaint was Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, who has gathered county commissioners in northern Ohio to oppose a turnpike lease.
"The company in control of the Indiana Turnpike is having all kinds of financial problems," FitzGerald said. "We don't want to have happening in Ohio what happened in Indiana."
"The Indiana Turnpike is a nightmare," said Lenore Novak of Lorain, who said she travels it often. "Their roads are deplorable, and you can't get through their toll booths."
Margaret Conway of Avon Lake added, "The plazas are also an embarrassment. Their bathrooms are really bad."
Those in the crowd had Jim Riley of the Ohio Department of Transportation and Rick Hodges of the Ohio Turnpike Commission on the defensive throughout the hearing.
Riley told the audience the state would still own the road even if it does lease it.
"We're just studying how to unlock the value of the turnpike," he said.
Hodges said that leasing is only one option the commission is studying and that no plan should be condemned without serious consideration.
State Rep. Matt Lundy, Democrat of Elyria, said people just don't want to turn the turnpike over to a private company to run.
"I'm telling people to call the governor's office and express their feelings," Lundy said. "I'm against moving forward with Gov. Kasich's plan. I haven't gotten one call in support of it."
The next hearing will be next Wednesday in Lucas County. A third will be held later in Mahoning County.