Q: I’ve heard speculation that the East River bridges may become toll bridges. Is that true?

A: A spokeswoman for the Department of Transportation, Kay Sarlin, used the word “no” twice in the span of 10 seconds to answer the question. There are no plans to assess tolls and no studies to be conducted on the value of the move, she said.

There’s also no foreseeable way a politician could get such a toll passed, though that didn’t stop Mayor Bloomberg from suggesting the idea in 2002. Then the anti-politician mayor, he recognized that such tolls, though unpopular, would alleviate congestion in Brooklyn as well as Manhattan while raising money to repair city roads.

Urban planners and transportation advocates have said such a toll will be inevitable if Brooklyn creates in the next 20 years the additional 20 million square feet of office space that has been proposed, a transportation consultant, Brian Ketchum, said. The tolls would encourage greater use of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, which costs $4, as well as the subway into downtown Brooklyn.

Q: Crossing the George Washington Bridge late one night from the Palisades Parkway, I passed through the toll plaza, but there was no toll collector, so I continued on without paying. Is that legal?

A: Yes and no. More than two years ago, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey removed overnight toll collectors at the booths on the Palisades Interstate Parkway that lead to the George Washington Bridge. If you pass through the booths between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. and do not have an E-ZPass, you’re likely to be charged with a toll violation. Six to eight weeks later, a ticket arrives, asking you for $6 toll – plus a $25 fine! A spokeswoman for the Port Authority, Tiffany Townsend, said recipients who call the customer-service line and explain their predicament may well manage to get the fine waived, but not the toll. Those driving late at night without E-ZPass should take the exit before the toll toward the bridge’s Upper Level, where toll collectors remain on duty 24 hours a day. If you go to the Lower Level you will encounter a similar predicament: Late night toll collectors were removed there in December 2003. For the remaining crossings managed by the Port Authority – the Holland and Lincoln tunnels and the three Staten Island Bridges – tollbooth collectors are on hand 24 hours a day.