New Jersey: Vote Yes on Question 2
Question 2 is not controversial. There is no “Vote No on 2” coalition or campaign to speak of. And that’s because most New Jerseyans — like voters across the country — support the idea that money collected through gas taxes should be used for transportation purposes. If Question 2 is passed, every penny collected through the state […]
Wednesday Winners (& Losers)
A weekly roundup of good deeds, missteps, heroic feats and epic failures in the tri-state region and beyond. WINNERS New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito — Speaker Mark-Viverito urged Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg to include protected bike lanes in the Grand Concourse redesign. New York City Councilmember Julissa Ferreras-Copeland — Councilmember Ferreras-Copeland called on the NYC Department of […]
Transportation Trust Fund Agreement Is No Deal for New Jersey
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto announced late last Friday afternoon that they had reached an agreement to replenish the bankrupt Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) and end a three-month shutdown of state transportation projects. The agreement must be voted on by the full legislature before Governor Christie can sign the bill. The Senate […]
New Jersey Legislators Propose Tax Changes to Replenish Transportation Trust Fund
A plan for replenishing New Jersey’s Transportation Trust Fund — which runs dry in less than three weeks — was unveiled today by Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto and other leading Assembly Democrats. The proposal calls for $2 billion in annual spending for 10 years, and aims to double transportation aid to local governments. From the Assembly […]
NJ Transit Contingency Plan Just Another Example of New Jersey Transportation Barely Staying Afloat
Contingency planning: Activity undertaken to ensure that proper and immediate follow-up steps will be taken by a management and employees in an emergency. Its major objectives are to ensure (1) containment of damage or injury to, or loss of, personnel and property and (2) continuity of the key operations of the organization. Last week, New Jersey Transit released its contingency plan for moving commuters in the event of a pending rail worker strike on March 13. The plan, however, […]
New Jersey’s 2015 Legislative Session Leaves Loose Ends for Transportation Funding
Another legislative session has come and gone in New Jersey, and with it goes another opportunity to address the state’s most pressing transportation needs: Bicyclist and Pedestrian Safety – Despite gaining traction in the beginning of the session, efforts to move the Safe Passing bill (A1577/A1600) were stalled in the Senate Transportation Committee. Approved by […]
Voters to Decide Whether to Protect Transportation Funds in New Jersey — and Possibly in Connecticut
New Jersey’s 14.5-cent-per-gallon gas tax is comprised of a 10.5-cent motor fuels tax and a 4-cent petroleum products tax. Currently, only the 10.5 cent motor fuels tax is constitutionally required to be spent on transportation. For a state that lacks a long-term sustainable funding source for transportation projects and the political will to increase the gas tax, every […]
New Jersey 2015: Looking Back on the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Transportation in New Jersey finally got some attention but very little love in 2015. Governor Chris Christie and the New Jersey Legislature failed to acknowledge dwindling transportation funding in the state budget, top transportation officials left their posts, NJ Transit riders faced their fifth fare hike since 2000 and drivers have enjoyed the lowest gas prices in years (along with […]
Wednesday Winners (& Losers)
A weekly roundup of good deeds, missteps, heroic feats and epic failures in the tri-state region and beyond. WINNERS U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney (NY), New York City Public Advocate Letitia James, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and City Councilmembers Ydanis Rodriguez, Helen Rosenthal and Jimmy Van Bramer — At the World Day of Remembrance in […]
We’d Love to Hear Governor Christie “Tell It Like It Is” in New Jersey
This week, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is in New Hampshire as part of a “Tell It Like It Is Town Hall Tour.” So, we ask the Governor to “tell it like it is” when it comes to the state of transportation in the Garden State. The soon-to-be-insolvent Transportation Trust Fund is “not a crisis?” Tell it like it is! How’s the five-year […]