Very little support for possible gas tax hike

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) - Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick is now shying away from a proposal to raise the state's gas tax by 15 cents per gallon.

State lawmakers are struggling to find ways to pay for improvements to the state's aging transportation system. But a new poll conducted by the Campaign for our Communities showed that 83% of Massachusetts residents say that a gas tax hike is not the way to go.

Western Massachusetts drivers told 22News that they do not think that raising the gas tax is a good idea, either.

"It's going to affect a lot of human services, businesses, because we use our individual vehicles, a lot of people are paying that out weekly and that's a struggle in and of itself,” Julie Mardner of Holyoke said.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is scheduled to present a series of financing options to the Governor by Monday.