Tolls, tolls, tolls

by: Thurman Hart

Thu Sep 04, 2008 at 06:21:17 PM EDT

The Star-Ledger is reporting that the Governor is floating a new toll-hike proposal:

Drivers on the New Jersey Turnpike would face toll increases of 50 percent next year, 50 percent in 2012 and 11 percent in 2023, under a plan presented today to Gov. Jon Corzine.
The proposal by the Turnpike Authority also calls for similar increases on Garden State Parkway. Those tolls, which average 35 cents per passenger car, would rise by 15 cents next year, 25 cents in 2012 and eight cents in 2023.
Revenue generated from the increases would be used to widen the Turnpike and Parkway, invest $1.25 billion in a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River and repair and replace aging bridges.

I don't like to see this coming around again, but we need the money from somewhere. I'm fortunate in that I don't have to take the Turnpike or Parkway. Others, I know, are not so lucky.

Fifty cents on the Parkway next year and then another quarter in 2012? That's steep. Why not simply have the tolls adjust automatically every year for inflation? It would be only a few cents per year, but it would be easier to swallow.

Of course, we're already behind the eight-ball. So the go-slow approach isn't really going to work at this point.

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A Child's Stigma

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Not a good sign

by: Jason Springer

Sun Mar 02, 2008 at 01:10:24 PM EST

In the Bergen Record today, Charles Stile has a brief anecdote about a pitch of his Asset Monetization plan the Governor was making on Friday with the subheading: Lighting strikes twice

New Jerseyans mostly have taken a dim view of Governor Corzine's toll hike/debt reduction plan, polls show. Maybe all that discontent had something to do with the lights going out -- twice -- on Friday while Corzine addressed 500 lobbyists and government contractors in Trenton.
Ten minutes into his remarks in the Marriott ballroom, the overhead chandeliers and two projection screens flickered and went dark. The state troopers who protect the governor made for the stage. Seconds later, the power was back, Corzine resumed his address and the troopers appeared to relax. Then, once more, lights off, troopers on their toes, lights on.

I don't think thats exactly the start and the sign Corzine was looking for as he looks to resume pitching his toll plan.

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Corzine's Toll Plan Details Emerge

by: Juan Melli

Tue Jan 08, 2008 at 01:36:00 AM EST

Deborah Howlett and Joe Donohue have all the fun juicy details:

Tolls would rise every four years and be extended to Route 440 as part of the financial restructuring plan Gov. Jon Corzine is expected to offer up in his State of the State speech today, according to individuals involved in crafting the plan.
The Star-Ledger has learned that any new or increased tolls proposed in the plan would not be collected until at least 2010, the year after Corzine would stand for re-election. A source with direct knowledge of the plan confirmed Statehouse reports of a 50 percent toll hike every four years mixed with annual cost of living increases.
That would mean the average Turnpike toll for a motorist paying in cash would rise from the current $1.92 to nearly $10 by 2022. [...]
The individuals involved in drawing up the plan said Corzine agreed to tolls on Route 440 -- five miles of highway between the New Jersey Turnpike and the Outerbridge Crossing to Staten Island -- because 30 percent to 40 percent of the motorists using the road are from out of state.

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Nick Asselta lies on toll roads.

by: Scott Weingart

Wed Jul 11, 2007 at 03:47:40 PM EDT

New Jersey Republicans know they can't beat Democrats on the issues, so in 2007, they will try to run against straw men instead.

Last Month, Republican State Senator Nick "Straw Man" Asselta attacked Democratic Assemblymen Jeff Van Drew and Nelson Albano for voting against an amendment that would prohibit Governor Corzine from studying asset monetization. Van Drew and Albano actually voted for the amendment.

Less than three weeks later, "Straw Man" Asselta is at it again. Three times in the last two days, his campaign has attacked Van Drew and Albano in press releases claiming that the Assemblymen want to sell New Jersey's toll roads. Asselta reasons that a vote for a budget is a vote for monetization--as if he's never voted for a bill containing a provision or two he didn't like.

Asselta has a real problem. He's running against the most active, hardest-working legislator in the state, and if his press releases are any indication, he's a single-issue candidate without any policy ideas of his own. To attack his opponent on an issue on which they both essentially agree is a sign of desperation, not a sign of strength.

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On the Right Track?

by: mikeshapiro

Wed Jul 04, 2007 at 05:20:07 PM EDT

Although he has not yet formulated a proposal regarding the State's toll roads, Governor Corzine's recent announcement that he would not sell or lease them to a for-profit company or a foreign operator is a wise one. Residents of New Jersey generally opposed the sale or lease of the State's toll roads and the Governor's initial plans to study the issue raised Republican opposition. Given the beating Republicans have taken at the polls in recent elections in New Jersey, that Party views the sale or lease of the State's toll roads as an issue that could resonate with voters and cause them to seriously consider voting for change in Trenton this November. Corzine's announcement helps to blunt the impact of the Republican's use of this wedge issue. If the sale or lease of our toll roads to a for-profit corporation or foreign operation were to take place, what would it mean to our residents? What problems could arise?

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