MTR 300, NJ Environmental, Business Leaders Back PA Toll Plan

Issue 300

January 15, 2001

NJ Environmental, Business Leaders Back PA Toll Plan

Last Thursday, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, the New Jersey Alliance for Action, and the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club convened a joint press conference in Newark to support the toll fee changes proposed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels, George Washington Bridge, and the Staten Island Bridges. The groups praised the "value pricing" component of the proposed toll structure and said that the Port Authority needs new revenues to advance many projects in their capital program that are vital to the metropolitan region's economy and environment.

"Variable pricing is essential to ease congestion in the metropolitan region," said Janine Bauer, Executive Director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. "Agencies are finally realizing that road capacity is a scarce resource."

Under the Port Authority's proposal, off-peak drivers with E-ZPass see only a modest increase and all drivers with E-ZPass receive a discount. Cash-payers would pay the highest rates. The plan charges higher E-ZPass rates at rush hour. It also features different rates at different facilities, to account for demand variations and the presence of parallel mass transit routes (rates are higher where transit is more frequent and convenient).

Port Authority Toll/Fare Hearings This Week

Manhattan	Jan. 16	10 a.m	One World Trade Center
Jersey City	Jan. 16	5 p.m.	Hudson County Administration Building
Staten Island	Jan. 17	5 p.m.	College of Staten Island
Bergen County	Jan 18	5 p.m.	Route 17 Holiday Inn, Hasbrouck Heights

Call 212-435-3424 or 201-216-2888 for directions and to register to speak at the hearings, or visit www.panynj.gov

Citing a report released by his organization last year, Phil Beachem, President of the NJ Alliance for Action, a prominent business association person, said the average New Jersey motorist loses $800 a year to congestion. "Anything that's going to be designed to relieve some congestion translates into a monetary value for people," he told the Bergen Record. At the same time, Jeff Tittel of the NJ chapter of the Sierra Club stressed environmental benefits: "All these hours stuck in traffic means more pollution," he said. "These backups and delays increase fuel consumption."

The participants told reporters that their organizations plan to testify on behalf of the Port Authority plan at public hearings scheduled next week in New Jersey and New York City. The groups urged New Jersey residents and their representatives to support the proposal at the hearings or by submitting comments to the Port Authority via a form on their website.

The participants' comments and support of the Port Authority proposal was reported in the Star-Ledger, Bergen Record, Associated Press, Courier Post, the Asbury Park Press, Home News Tribune, and various New Jersey and New York City cable and radio stations.