Comments on: In NJ, "Son of Toll Hike" is Born

By: Region’s Transit Projects Get High Marks From FTA « Mobilizing the Region

Tue, 12 May 2009 18:12:34 +0000

[...] Trust Fund, although most of the state’s contribution to the project will now come from bonds backed by toll road revenue. In addition, Congressional action is needed before the FTA can award this agreement. The $3 [...]

By: 2008 NJ Year in Review: The Year of the Megaprojects « Mobilizing the Region

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:09:26 +0000

[...] Legislature. The critical question of how to fix the Trust Fund was pushed aside for later, and smaller toll increases on the Turnpike and Parkway were approved in September to fund the three [...]

By: NJ’s Three-Toll Circus « Mobilizing the Region

NJ’s Three-Toll Circus « Mobilizing the Region — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:39:57 +0000

[...] Commissioner and NJ Turnpike Authority Chairman Kris Kolluri outlined adjustments to NJTA’s earlier toll increase plan and the accompanying capital [...]

By: Can NJ Turnpike Tolls Fund Transit? Check the Fine Print. « Mobilizing the Region

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:00:08 +0000

[...] NJ Turnpike Authority has offered one funding source: increasing tolls on the NJ Turnpike and Garden State Parkway three times over the next 15 years. The increases would [...]

By: Ray

Ray — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 10:39:23 +0000

I support a rational increase in tolls to cover capital projects New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway as well as a make a sustainable commitment to the state’s transportation trust fund. I agree that widening the roads is dubious in all but a few locations.

Yet, I do not feel these drivers should shoulder the burden of the costs of mass transit capital projects alone.

I advocate a gasoline tax of .25 to .35 per gallon statewide to fund New Jersey Transit Capital Projects, as well as improvements in rail and bus operations statewide.

Seems more just.

By: Kate Slevin

Kate Slevin — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 20:52:03 +0000

Thanks for your comments. Just to be clear, TSTC agrees there is a congestion problem on the Turnpike. We just believe there are cheaper and more effective alternatives to solving this problem than widening the roadway up to three lanes in each direction. The new lanes will fill with traffic soon after construction is complete. Even the Turnpike Authority documents and traffic stats show that this will happen yet the agency has done nothing to devise strategies (like variable tolling or better freight management) to ensure the new lanes remain congestion free.

$2.5 billion should be able to buy more than a few years of congestion relief.

By: Jonathan Flaherty

Jonathan Flaherty — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 11:52:13 +0000

Yeah, I have to agree with the posters above. The NJ Turnpike is a vital component of the national highway system and the backups between 6 and 9 are outrageous. Although I am the biggest proponent of transit you will find, this plan is needed on ALL fronts, highways and transit. The MOM line is a decade away from being completed at best, and that is the closest that transit is getting to that part of the state anytime soon.

By: Arthur

Arthur — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 23:26:01 +0000

We live in East Brunswick, NJ exactly midpoint between exits 9 and 8A of the NJ Turnpike. The traffic backups that can occur in that stretch of road where it narrows are almost unbelievable. Even more amazing, they happen at times even when you would least expect them, like on a Sunday evening. In addition to the fact that mass transit is not likely to significantly address this issue (and transit buses can and are caught in exactly the same horrendous traffic), a very large and growing portion of the traffic is truck traffic that by definition can not and never will take public transit. To think that this expansion is not needed and can be instead solved with better transit is far from realistic.

By: Edward

Edward — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:56:44 +0000

The NJ turnpike widening is needed to handle the increased traffic that will come from Pennsylvania when the interchange between I-95 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike is completed.

By: Support Access to the Region’s Core - From TSTC’S Website! « Mobilizing the Region

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:05:16 +0000

[...] Authority’s recently disclosed plan to fund a 10-year capital program with higher tolls is fatally flawed because it includes dubious widenings of the NJ Turnpike and Garden State Parkway. But it does get [...]