A citizen committee has recommended no toll increases on the new Narrows bridge, at least for now.

At a meeting Thursday night in Gig Harbor, the Narrows Bridge Toll Citizen Advisory Committee voted 6-2 against an increase proposed this month by the state Transportation Commission.

“We are trying to represent the public and all the people impacted by the bridge, and our goal is to keep the costs as low as possible,” committee chairman Robert Ryan said before the meeting.

The committee’s recommendation will go back to the Transportation Commission, which will make a decision April 22.

Last year, the citizen committee recommended keeping the tolls at $2.75 for drivers with transponders and $4 for drivers who pay at tollbooths.

Last month, the Transportation Commission ignored that recommendation and voted to raise the charge for drivers with transponders by 50 cents, citing a decline in traffic over the bridge. As required by statute, that proposed increase then went back to the committee for its vote Thursday.

But the situation isn’t bad enough yet to justify an increase, especially for Good to Go transponder users, the citizen committee decided Thursday.

Perhaps because of bad weather, traffic was well below monthly projections – 77,920 fewer tolls paid than the projected 1.2 million in February alone. Still, the bridge project has a $10 million surplus that should be enough to hold it over for some time.

A small contingent of local drivers applauded the committee when it voted to oppose the toll increases. Some said the surplus makes the increase “unconscionable.” Others said the current economic crisis should be a factor.

What bothered most of the residents who turned out for the meeting was that last month the state Transportation Commission voted to raise the costs for drivers with the Good To Go transponders – mostly local drivers who use the bridge most often.

Lucretia Devine, a Gig Harbor resident who spoke against the increase at the meeting, said she was grateful the citizen committee voted to recommend keeping tolls the same.

“I feel the way I do strongly because of the economic impact on families,” she said.

The citizen committee’s goal is to keep costs as low as possible for local drivers, while still bringing in enough funds to keep the project in the black.

“It’s a cost for everybody, so it’s something we need to be concerned about,” Ryan said during the meeting.

Before voting to keep the tolls the same, committee member Caroline Belleci issued a warning to the public: There may be a $13 million surplus at the end of this fiscal year, but it’s projected to drop by half the next year and toll hikes are inevitable. The citizen committee will review the tolls again in the fall.

Said Belleci: “$2.75 will not be what the future holds. There will be dramatic increases.”

Brian Everstine: 253-597-8374