Margate Bridge

I have lived in Margate since kindergarten. I remember going over the bridge into Northfield to hit the McDonald’s after my Farm League games… I remember when it was a quarter and then fifty cents … and then it keeps getting raised. Finally in 2009 it went up to $ 1.50 which is kinda insane… Now you would think that the elected officials would have the power to run on the «I will make things right ticket» But here is the kicker… the bridge is privately owned.
Now that you have that bag of knowledge… we now start the review.
«The Good»
— It is the shortest route to get off the island from Margate and then onto the Parkway or Expressway.
— It cuts through the bay, so you see migrating turtles trying to cross, this is listed under the good not before my hatred of turtles (I like turtles), but because over the past few years there have been environmental groups that set up nets that redirect them so they do not get run over.
— Turtle Crossings are between May and August ;)
— The toll takers are great, friendly people … say Hello to them and ask them how they are. One of them is even my former mail carrier.
— You get free passage on Christmas Day … yay!
— The QTC — The Margate Bridge Companies version of EZ Pass — it is convenient if you only travel between Margate and the local mainland.(*See below)
«The Meh»
— It is a drawbridge and boats use the water… when you do the math on that one, take into account that there are no «set times» when the drawbridge will go or be up. When boats need to pass they call in and the bridge goes up.
«The Bad»
— Here is a link to the local NBC affiliate that covered a protest when the price was raised to $ 1.50.
— Here is a good comparison of the tolls for random bridges.
— The QTC — The Margate Bridge Companies version of EZ Pass. Now this leads us to the question that it is rumored… the owners of the Bridge are greedy as seen with the price hikes for something that they should be able to own… but on top of that they are not willing to split any profits with EZ Pass and came up with something that is privately theirs… This would be great back in the day when there was no EZ Pass and it may have even still been starting out… This is just another reason to have bad blood between the communities and the owner.
— Privately owned bridge … fine. Privately owned bridge that has absolutely no check and balance or regulation on raising the tolls… not so much.
— The politicians for Margate (mainly), Longport & Ventnor (secondarily) Do not really talk about it as «There is nothing they can do» … He’s an idea, Get the damn bridge, if you are feeling nice, buy it. If you are feeling like dispensing justice, eminent domain, people have lost houses to it… why not help multiple communities on the island and the mainland by the doing the right thing.