Senator Christopher J. Connors, Assemblyman Brian E. Rumpf and Assemblyman Daniel M. Van Pelt, all R-Ocean/Burl./Atl., today criticized the public hearing schedule on the proposed plan for increasing tolls on the Garden State Parkway, Atlantic City Expressway and the New Jersey Turnpike in that it would limit public participation, especially for Shore area residents.
“The unreasonable hours set for the hearing schedule on the toll hike proposal will serve to only further erode the public’s already precarious confidence in state government,” said Senator Connors. “In a shrewd bureaucratic maneuver, two of the three hearings have been scheduled during normal working hours, which will obviously prevent a significant number of individuals who would be detrimentally impacted by this ill-conceived proposal from attending. It is ironic that at the same time people will be working to earn their living, the state will be working hard on how to take more of their earnings.”
The hearing schedule is as follows:
- Tuesday, September 23 - 6 PM to 8 PM at Camden County Community College in Blackwood
- Wednesday, September 24 – 9 AM to Noon at the Turnpike Authority Headquarters in Woodbridge
- Wednesday, September 24 – Noon to 3 PM at Bergen Community College in Paramus
Assemblyman Rumpf, the ranking Republican member of the Assembly Transportation, Solid Waste and Independent Authorities Committee, remarked “Not coincidentally, no hearing has been scheduled in the Shore area, despite the fact that Ocean County residents stand to be among the hardest hit by toll increases. Trenton has certainly outdone itself this time in demonstrating the very real disconnect that exists between state government and the people. The fact of the matter is that these proposed toll hikes will have significant financial implications for a select, targeted segment of the population in these difficult and unsettling economic times.”
“This is insult on top of injury for Shore area residents who rely on toll roads not only to commute to work but also to travel to local businesses,” said Assemblyman Van Pelt. “Under this proposal, these residents would unjustifiably be forced to bear a disproportionate share of the financial burden to compensate for the state’s failure to adequately fund infrastructure projects. It would appear that any interest in receiving input that represents the state’s citizenry as a whole has been disregarded in favor of a more limited hearing schedule that will curtail public participation.”
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September 22, 2008 - Ciesla, Wolfe & Holzapfel Call on Turnpike Authority to Hold Toll Hearings in Monmouth & Ocean Counties
September 30, 2008 - Connors, Rumpf & Van Pelt: Shore Region Hit Hardest by Toll Hike Scheme
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November 6, 2008
