NJ Turnpike Authority Out of Control – Undemocratic and Irresponsible

NOT WOODBRIDGE, NJ – The New Jersey Turnpike Authority is holding two public hearings about a proposed toll increase today, despite the COVID-19 public health emergency. The Sierra Club has asked them to postpone hearings and extend the public comment period because of Governor Murphy’s Executive Order 103. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Sierra Club staff members are barred from attending public meetings or asking our members to attend public meetings. This is true for many environmental organizations and NGOs as well. We are being more responsible than the NJ Turnpike Authority to protect public health and safety.

“The NJ Turnpike Authority is bulldozing ahead with their public hearings in spite of the public health emergency. This is undemocratic and unsafe and unfair to commuters. They are deliberately doing this because they don’t want the public to show up and oppose these unneeded and damaging toll hikes. This just shows that their capital plan is irresponsible, and so are their actions by holding this hearing. What they want to do is pave over parts of New Jersey and destroy neighborhoods. This means more traffic, more greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, and more sprawl,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “The Governor says that he wants to be a national leader in reducing greenhouse gases, but that is just hot air because this proposal will increase emissions exponentially. This will undermine our progress with electric vehicles and will promote more air pollution.”

The first hearing will take place today at the Turnpike Authority headquarters in Woodbridge at 1:00pm, the second hearing today at Camden County College at 6:00pm. The public comment period has been extended until April 3 at 5:00pm. The toll increases would be equally applied to all toll rates, including cash, E-ZPas, peak, off-peak, truck and car rates. The rate for a passenger car on the Turnpike would increase by an average of $1.25 and Parkway tolls by 30 cents.

“They want to push these increases through, but this money would be better spent fixing NJ Transit and expanding rail service to New York. Light rail riders and bus riders should be outraged because this money is going toward building and widening highways instead of improving NJ Transit. Their widening projects will cost more than the Gateway Tunnel and Portal Bridge combined, and this money would be better spent on those projects or others. What’s worse is that they are being unfair to commuters by holding these hearings during the coronavirus crisis,” said Tittel. “When the government deliberately hides behind a virus to keep the public from participating, they are not doing the public’s business. They are taking care of special interests at the expense of the people who they are supposed to be working for – the people of New Jersey.”

The proposed increases include a 36% increase for the New Jersey Turnpike and a 27% increase for the Garden State Parkway. This toll hike is estimated to raise more than $500 million. The money will support a capital plan that goes through 2029. There are 53 projects that will widen sections of the Parkway and Turnpike.

“The Turnpike Authority wants to throw away billions of dollars to increase our air pollution and traffic nightmare. They want to widen the Parkway exits 142-154 from Hillside to Clifton, which means we would have to replace dozens of overpasses and bridges in these Environmental Justice communities. They will have to tear down homes and apartment buildings in communities like Hillside, Irvington, and East Orange, which means mass disruptions in those areas. The projects could take at least ten years, probably much longer, causing traffic jams along one of the most travelled areas on the Parkway and increasing pollution from construction. This money should go toward putting in a light rail system along the Parkway to help these communities,” said Tittel. “This is a plan Robert Moses would be proud of. They are taking us back to the 1950’s, destroying urban neighborhoods, deliberately targeting Environmental Justice communities, and paving over farm fields to make way for the automobile.”

With the money raised from the toll hike, both the NJ Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway will also get cashless toll collection, and full-time use of exit 19W. 19W allows direct access from the Turnpike to the Meadowlands sports complex and is currently only open on event days.

“This rogue and arrogant authority is out of control. The fact that the Turnpike Authority is going forward with these hearings in the middle of a crisis and public health emergency is deplorable. This is a direct violation of both Governor Murphy’s order that limits statewide gatherings and nonessential travel and President Trump’s order to limit gatherings to ten people. They are live streaming the meetings, but this does not allow for public comments and many people don’t have computers or are busy taking care of their families during this public health emergency,” said Jeff Tittel. “This process is a sham. They say that they cannot afford to delay this process, but this is a 20 year plan. There is no reason that they cannot wait a few weeks until the emergency is over so that the public can participate and give informed comments.”

The money from the toll hike will go toward various projects, including full-time use of NJ Turnpike exit 19W with direct access to the American Dream Mall in the Meadowlands. Earlier this week, the New Jersey Sierra Club wrote a letter to the NJ Turnpike Authority asking them to postpone hearings and extend the public comment period because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

“They have not done any environmental analysis or EIS on these projects, and they are using toll money to get around the NEPA process that requires them. This widening is more about Pay to Pave than getting people to work. The Turnpike Authority is writing a blank check to the road building lobbyists. They want to widen the Turnpike from exits 4 through 1, which means cutting through environmentally sensitive farm fields, wetlands and streams. This means more water pollution, oil runoff, as well as more sprawl. There will be more warehouses in the middle of nowhere and more truck traffic. The fumes from idling trucks and vehicles lead to more trips to the emergency room and more risk for people with heart problems and asthma,” said Jeff Tittel. “A third of the children in our major cities suffer from asthma. Over a hundred children in New Jersey are killed every year by asthma attacks caused by ozone.”

Studies have shown that the fine particle pollution from diesel emissions in New Jersey may cause more premature deaths than homicides and car accidents combined. A US EPA report shows that fine particle pollution is known to cause or exacerbate a variety of lung and heart ailments.

“The Governor needs to hold the Turnpike Authority accountable and stop this capital plan from going forward. These projects not only hurt the environment and increase greenhouse gases, but the process itself is flawed and deliberately designed to keep the public from participating. These funds should be going toward smart transportation planning like reverse and flexible lanes and better traffic management. Governor Murphy needs to step in and stop this out of control agency from bulldozing ahead with their hearings over public health and the environment. People shouldn’t have to risk the safety of themselves and their loved ones to make their voices heard,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We are in a public health emergency. Governor Murphy and the leadership at NJ Turnpike Authority need to step in and stop this shameful process from moving forward.”