The "Parkway Barrier Toll Removal Act" would require the authority to remove barrier toll plazas and install high-speed toll lanes where E-ZPass customers are providing two-thirds of the toll plaza's revenue. In order to encourage E-ZPass usage and defray costs of toll plaza removal, the bill authorizes the authority to impose a $0.15 surcharge on cash-paying customers for the first six months following the removal and replacement of the toll plaza.

A Parkway spokesperson told reporters recently that the Parkway was gathering data from agencies that have implemented or are working on high-speed toll lanes, but the legislators have not received any report to date.

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Last week NJ State Senator Richard Codey (D-Essex) blasted Turnpike Executive Director Ed Gross in a letter to Governor Whitman. According to the Star-Ledger, Codey's July 1 letter accuses the toll agency of hitting drivers with a "sucker punch" by talking of varying Turnpike toll rates by the time of day. Codey's short-sighted missive is particularly puzzling, considering one of his major complaints in the letter was about toll plaza traffic. The Senator must be unaware of the peak traffic-busting potential of variable tolling.

Director Ed Gross deserves applause for bringing variable tolls to the forefront of the traffic debate.