I'm all for tolling the East River Bridges -- that's downtown, where
the concentration of jobs are, and the area is well served by subways.
 It also makes sense, given the tolls on the Queensboro, Queens
Midtown Tunnel, Battery Tunnel, Holland Tunnel, etc.

But to toll the Broadway Bridge at the cost of a subway fare?  $2.50
to use what to Inwoodites is just a local street traversed for errands
and regular commerce?  How is that part of funding better subways on
the Upper East Side?  Marble Hill residents will be thrilled, no
doubt, to have to pay to go from Manhattan to Manhattan while being
stuck with no visible transit improvements other than a slightly
faster ride on the Bx7 over the bridge.

Given the physical nature of the river, it's tempting to just toll
every bridge, which is exactly what the MTA plan suggests.  But that
does not make it right.  Set up the electronic toll line at what could
reasonably considered midtown Manhattan -- 59th St, say, and leave
upper Manhattanites to go about their daily lives in peace.

I realize that arguing for free bridges equals arguing against a
disincentive for cars, and streets would be more livable with fewer
cars on them, but the effect of discouraging through traffic can be
accomplished with a toll wall at 59th St or even 96th St.   Local
traffic is not the enemy here and the press for intelligent, livable
streets should not get caught up with punishing locals for doing what
infrastructure and geography made a reasonable choice -- owning a car
for running errands in the Bronx and Westchester.