The Garden State is still smart about congestion pricing.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday slammed Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state of New York for intimidating motorists with a new $9 entry fee south of 60th Street in Manhattan. .
“Under my administration, New Jersey has embarked on a historic undertaking to rebuild and reimagine our entire transportation system. We are investing in new, dedicated funding to support the future of New Jersey Transit. ,” Murphy said in his annual policy address.
“By the way, we haven't kicked out our neighbors to meet our fiscal needs. We haven't stopped fighting for a second to protect commuters coming in and out of New York,” he said, referring to congestion pricing.
A federal judge in Newark rejected Murphy and the state's bid just before the nation's first congestion charge went into effect on January 5th.
But in his final State of the Union address, Murphy said the legal and political battles are far from over.
“Expect it,” he teased.
The dispute over tolls is a factor in this year's Jersey gubernatorial election to replace Mr. Murphy, who is term-limited.
One candidate, Jersey City Mayor Stephen Fulop, proposed retaliating congestion tolls on motorists entering the Garden State from New York.
“There are a lot of intersections between Staten Island, New York, Bergen County, Hudson County and New Jersey,” Fulop said. told Fox 5 NY..
“There are many opportunities for New York to impose the same type of impact fees that New Jersey is imposing.”
Hochul touted in his policy booklet released Tuesday that the tolls will be used to fund the MTA's massive capital construction program.
“Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, the MTA has completed many projects, including a second phase of the Second Avenue subway extension to East Harlem, and a state-of-the-art signal system on more than 1.5 million A/C and B/D/F/M line segments. The governor's brochure states: “We will drive innovative projects to increase daily ridership, improve accessibility at more than 20 stations, and hundreds of new electric buses.”
“These and other investments are being funded by New York State’s first-in-the-nation congestion pricing program, which went into effect on January 5 following the governor’s successful effort to lower tolls by 40 percent. , which would generate a massive $15 billion to “fund transportation funding,” her policy document states.
Mr. Hochul deferred collection in June, when the toll was pegged at $15, but the $9 tax will be levied after the November election.
She claims that congestion pricing would reduce the number of vehicles entering Manhattan by 10%.
Transportation advocates who support congestion pricing point out that New York motorists pay to travel on highways west of the Hudson River, such as the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway. There is.
Jano Lieber, chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, called opponents of Jersey fares hypocrites.
Congestion pricing began with a 2019 law approved by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Congress – But Cuomo now says he opposes the $9 toll, saying it could do “more harm than good.”
