FREEHOLD – The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders has adopted a resolution opposing the state’s plan to increase tolls on the Garden State Parkway. The freeholders contend that increasing the tolls is tantamount to a tax on Monmouth County commuters.

 

“Historically, toll money has been used to maintain the toll roads,” said Freeholder William C. Barham, who sponsored the resolution. “Under the state’s plan, Monmouth County commuters would be contributing not only to maintenance of the roads, but they also would be funding a variety of other state transportation projects, including the new rail tunnel into Manhattan. It’s not fair.”

 

Even though Gov. Corzine recently ordered the Turnpike Authority to cut “to the minimum” a list of transportation projects it wants to pay for through a series of toll hikes, projects likely to remain in a revised plan expected on Friday include repairing and replacing deteriorating bridges, widening the Turnpike and Garden State Parkway and the new rail tunnel under the Hudson River.

 

The plan that was offered by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority would have more than doubled the cost of driving on the toll roads by 2012. Under that plan, a typical 23-mile trip on the Turnpike would rise from $1.20 to $1,80 next year, reach $2.70 in 2012, and $3 after 2023. Parkway tolls costing 35 cents per car would jump to 50 cents next year, 75 cents in 2012 and 85 cents in 2023.

 

“Revenue from toll roads should be used solely for the maintenance, operation and improvement of those roads,” Freeholder Director Lillian G. Burry said. “The distribution of the burden of the cost increases is inequitable, falling disproportionately on motorists who use the Turnpike and Parkway. This targets commuters in Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex counties.”

 

Monmouth County spends $5.3 million a year on regular road and bridge improvements in a plan aimed at keeping county roads open, safe and appropriate for residents and visitors.

 

“There are projections that clearly show that with the proposed price increases, the cost of goods shipped by truck, such as clothing and food, would be passed onto consumers resulting in higher prices,” said Freeholder John D’Amico Jr., liaison to the county’s Department of Economic Development and Tourism. “In addition, a vital component of the Monmouth County economy could suffer from the higher cost of travel to multiple tourist sites in Monmouth County.”

 

Recent public hearings drew a range of feedback, including concern from drivers who said they would be unfairly squeezed, to enthusiasm from laborers who said the projects would create jobs in a tough economy. A hearing on the new, scaled-back toll plan will be laid out during a public hearing Oct. 10 at the Turnpike Authority’s headquarters in Woodbridge.

 

An earlier version of the state’s toll-hike plan was far more ambitious, with the state aiming to raise $11 billion to pay down half the state's debt, buy open space and replenish the soon-to-be-broke Transportation Trust Fund. None of those are addressed in this year’s discussions.

           

“We should not force one segment of the state’s residents – toll-road commuters and truckers – to shoulder most of the burden of paying down the state’s debt,” Freeholder Deputy Director Robert D. Clifton said. “But now is not a good time to increase any fees, including tolls.”

 

The latest revision announced Tuesday would take a little less bite from drivers’ wallets, scale back a 10-year, $9.7 billion capital improvement plan to $7 billion, and reduce a widening project on the Garden State Parkway. Garden State Parkway users would still pay 15 cents more in 2008 and an additional 25 cents in 2012, as originally proposed. A 10-cent toll increase in 2023 was dropped. On the New Jersey Turnpike, the toll of $1.20 for an average 22-mile trip would increase to $1.70, or 50 cents more, in 2008. That's a 10-cent reduction from the original plan.

 

“The potential impact any toll increase would have on Monmouth County commuters cannot be overlooked,” Freeholder Barbara J. McMorrow said. “Even with this revised plan, it still amounts to a tax on our residents who use the Parkway and Turnpike to commute to work.”      

 

 

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