Last week, the New York State Thruway Authority opened highway-speed tolling lanes at its Woodbury toll plaza in Orange County, the first Thruway plaza to offer open-road toll lanes for both personal and commercial travelers.

Also last week, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission [...]]]>

The I-78 toll plaza near the NJ/PA border.

Last week, the New York State Thruway Authority opened highway-speed tolling lanes at its Woodbury toll plaza in Orange County, the first Thruway plaza to offer open-road toll lanes for both personal and commercial travelers.

Also last week, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission opened two high-speed E-ZPass lanes at a toll plaza on I-78, just west of the I-78 bridge connecting New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The new lanes will improve driver safety by reducing the need to decelerate, accelerate, and merge at toll plazas. Reduced idling at the plazas will also result in fewer emissions.

The Woodbury toll plaza is the second Thruway plaza to be upgraded to highway-speed; the first was a commercial-vehicle-only toll barrier in Spring Valley that opened in 2007. The I-78 plaza is the first use of open-road tolls by the DRJTBC, which plans to install more open-road toll lanes at its I-80 toll facility near the Delaware Water Gap.

Image: Via Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission.

Connecticut’s Joint Committee on Transportation reported several bills out of committee earlier this week, including a Tri-State supported bill to increase [...]]]>

The committee reported out a bill to direct ConnDOT to create a detailed plan for tolls. Tolls would have to be all-electronic, like the high-speed toll gantries on Houston's Westpark Tollway (above).

Connecticut’s Joint Committee on Transportation reported several bills out of committee earlier this week, including a Tri-State supported bill to increase penalties for careless driving and an amended bill directing ConnDOT to prepare a plan to implement electronic tolls.

The first bill, known as “vulnerable users” legislation, would establish new penalties for careless driving which results in the injury or death of a pedestrian, cyclist, skater, highway worker, or driver of an agricultural vehicle. Convicted drivers would be required to take safety classes, perform at least 100 hours of community service, and pay a fine of up to $5,000. It passed the Committee overwhelmingly, by a 30-6 vote.

The bill is spearheaded by livable streets champion Representative Thomas Kehoe of Glastonbury, who noted after the vote that “vulnerable users always lose in an accident.  Although we must all act responsibly, motorists need to keep a special look out and anticipate where non-motorized users might be. This bill complements the Complete Streets Law … and will promote safer streets that encourage people to walk, exercise and use mass transit and which makes our cities and towns more viable and its citizens healthier.”

In a much tighter vote, the Transportation Committee also reported out an amended bill to direct ConnDOT to develop a plan for implementing electronic tolls on Connecticut’s roads.  Tri-State testified against the original bill, which called for electronic tolls only at Connecticut’s borders and would have faced constitutional challenges.  The new language also means that ConnDOT now has the flexibility to make reducing congestion a priority in its toll study.

Both bills now need to make their way through other relevant committees in the Connecticut General Assembly before full votes can be taken in the House and Senate.

Two smart bills that did not make it out of committee this year would have established a statewide red light camera pilot program and a competitive grant program for pedestrian and cycling infrastructure.

Image: ASCE Houston.

A recent study showing the health impacts to infants living close to traffic jammed toll plazas provides another reason for new MTA chairman Jay Walder to direct his agency to finally get rid of the outdated, congestion-causing barrier arms on its bridges and tunnels. [...]]]>

All-electronic tolling could further reduce emissions at toll plazas.

A recent study showing the health impacts to infants living close to traffic jammed toll plazas provides another reason for new MTA chairman Jay Walder to direct his agency to finally get rid of the outdated, congestion-causing barrier arms on its bridges and tunnels. The study, “Traffic Congestion and Infant Health,” was published by the National Bureau of Economic Research and spotlights the role of highway technology, in this case E-ZPass, in delivering public benefits like reduced air pollution to the most vulnerable of populations.

The researchers examined birth records from families living near the NJ Turnpike, Garden State Parkway, and Pennsylvania Turnpike, examining the years before and after the introduction of E-ZPass on those highways. After comparing households who lived near toll plazas with those near other parts of the highway, and controlling for several other factors, the researchers conclude that “E-ZPass reduced the incidence of prematurity and low birth weight in the vicinity [2km] of toll plazas by 10.83% and 11.8% respectively.” Engineering studies cited in the report showed that E-ZPass reduced toll plaza delays by up to 85% and reduced pollutants like nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide up to 50%.  The study also references research showing that exposure to carbon monoxide in particular is associated with “negative birth outcomes.”

Despite modern camera and video technology, MTA toll machines still use old-fashioned “arms” that are lowered as a barrier to toll evasion. Some of the most widely used interstates and roads in our region, such as the Garden State Parkway and New York State Thruway, have non-stop tolling at highway speeds. Some progress might not be too far ahead as the MTA and Port Authority of NY and NJ have feasibility studies underway for cashless tolling on their facilities.

Tri-State has pressed the MTA for barrier-free tolling for years (see MTR #s 462 and 417) releasing a report, “The Open Road,” in 2004. At the time, the agency claimed that toll gates improved safety by “metering traffic” and that gateless tolls could lead to lost revenue. MTA arguments have not changed much since then; in a recent letter from MTA Bridges and Tunnels shared by a reader, the agency again warned that eliminating the barriers could result in a revenue loss that would reduce revenue for public transit. But many agencies that have switched to high-speed tolling have figured out how to avoid such losses. Furthermore, the NBER study joins a growing body of research that suggests the public health, environmental, and economic benefits far outweigh the costs. For the three highways they studied, the report authors value the health benefits from reduced prematurity alone at $77 million over three years.

Image: Cashless tolling gantry in Delaware (Photo Christopher G. Mason/courtesy Bridge Tolls Advocacy Project).