Senator Jennifer Beck and Assembly members Declan J. O’Scanlon and Caroline Casagrande of District 12 issued the following statement after Republican leaders met with Governor Corzine to discuss his plan for huge toll increases on the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway:
“Strong and creative leadership would have solved the state’s transportation funding crisis years ago without higher tolls, taxes or fees,” Beck said. “Instead, the Democrats insist on making New Jersey residents pay more to get to work and travel.”
“There are plenty of better alternatives,” O’Scanlon said. “New York is not paying its fair share of the Access to the Region’s Core tunnel. The governor could have stood firm and refused to go along with a tunnel plan that wasn’t fair, lowering the costs to the residents of New Jersey.”
“While the governor was busy over the last three years boosting the state budget up to a record $33 billion, he could have set aside a mere 1.5 percent to solve our transportation problems,” Casagrande said. “Instead, he plans to almost triple tolls while leaving the vast majority of projects unfunded.”
Republicans want to use $500 million in fees already collected for transportation each year to finance our road, rail and bridge construction and maintenance projects. “The money is there. All that’s needed is small shift in spending priorities from bloated programs that provide few benefits to transportation projects that would help everyone in the state,” the three lawmakers said.
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September 5, 2008
