Although work to relieve congestion at Garden State Parkway toll plazas is well advanced, the notion of abolishing tolls altogether is dying a slow death. New Jersey’s anti-toll zealots are kvetching about the latest improvements on the Garden State Parkway. New Jersey recently removed toll barriers at Raritan (north-bound) and Asbury Park (south-bound) to reduce congestion, while doubling the 35-cent toll at nearby plazas. Together with the Parkway’s move to implement high-speed tolls at some plazas, reducing the overall number of on-highway plazas is a key component of the state’s plan to ease Parkway jams.

But whether congestion was improving on the Parkway or not, the position of "Citizens Against Tolls" and like-minded groups is completely untenable. That’s because New Jersey’s transportation fund is nearly bust, while the need for transportation investment continues to grow. The state’s leaders will soon face the need to raise new transportation revenue, and are in no position to eliminate existing sources of highway upkeep. Parkway tolls have not risen since 1980s, and at this point do not cover the cost of operating and maintaining the state-spanning highway. If anything, Parkway tolls should be hiked in the near future.

Citizens Against Tolls says Governor McGreevey promised to eliminate tolls during the 2001 campaign. In fact, the proposal was Bret Schundler’s signature issue, and McGreevey responded to it in a variety of ways (MTR #317). In any case, the relevance of the governor’s campaign promises is receding quickly, and the real needs of transportation in NJ are far more important. Star-Ledger polls from the 2001 race found the issue unpopular with New Jersey citizens because they are smart enough to understand that the money would have to come from another source if tolls were abolished.

Travel conditions and quality of life will be better for everyone in New Jersey if the debate sticks to solving real transportation problems.

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