ASSEMBLY, No. 35

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

209th LEGISLATURE

INTRODUCED JANUARY 24, 2000

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman ALEX DECROCE

District 26 (Essex, Morris and Passaic)

Assemblyman SAMUEL D. THOMPSON

District 13 (Middlesex and Monmouth)

SYNOPSIS

    "Parkway Barrier Toll Removal Act."

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

    As introduced.

(Sponsorship Updated As Of: 2/8/2000)

An Act providing for the removal or redesign of barrier toll plazas on the Garden State Parkway under certain circumstances and supplementing P.L.1952, c.16 (C.27:12B-1 et seq.).

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. This act shall be known as, and may be cited as, the "Parkway Barrier Toll Removal Act."

    2. a. Whenever the use of a toll collection monitoring system accounts for two-thirds of all toll transactions at a barrier toll plaza, the New Jersey Highway Authority shall remove or redesign the barrier toll plaza so that the toll collection monitoring system is able to read vehicle sensors without vehicles traveling through a barrier and thereby maintain the free flow of traffic. The redesigned toll plaza or the structure replacing it shall allow at least as many lanes of through traffic as the number of lanes one-half mile before the barrier toll plaza.

    b. The authority shall remove or redesign a barrier toll plaza within one year of achieving two-thirds toll collection monitoring system usage at that plaza. In the event that two or more barrier toll plazas achieve two-thirds toll collection monitoring system usage simultaneously, the authority shall first remove or redesign the barrier toll plaza with the highest volume. The authority may retain separate lanes and toll plazas at the side of the parkway for the collection of tolls being paid in cash.

    c. Notwithstanding the provision of any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, the authority shall not be required to obtain any State or local permit, or any other environmental permit, otherwise required for the reconfiguration of a barrier toll plaza necessary to meet the requirements of this act.

    d. The authority is authorized to impose a 40 percent surcharge on tolls paid at the cash toll plaza where a barrier toll plaza has been removed or redesigned until the first day of the sixth month following the removal and replacement or redesign of every barrier toll plaza on the parkway pursuant to this act. The authority shall use all revenue derived from the 40 percent surcharge to defray the costs of removal or redesign of barrier toll plazas.

    3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill would require the New Jersey Highway Authority (the authority) to remove or redesign a barrier toll plaza when two-thirds of tolls at that plaza are collected through the electronic toll collection monitoring system known as EZ Pass. The barrier toll plazas would be redesigned or replaced so that the EZ Pass system would be able to read vehicle sensors without vehicles traveling through a barrier and thereby maintain the free flow of traffic. The redesigned toll plaza or new structure replacing it would be required to allow at least as many lanes of through traffic as the number of lanes one-half mile before the current barrier toll plaza.

    The bill requires the authority to remove or redesign a barrier toll plaza within one year of achieving two-thirds EZ Pass usage at that plaza. In the event that two or more barrier toll plazas achieve two-thirds EZ Pass usage simultaneously, the authority would be required to remove or redesign the barrier toll plaza with the highest volume first. The authority is authorized to retain separate lanes and toll plazas at the side of the parkway for the collection of tolls being paid in cash.

    In order to provide for the expeditious removal of barrier toll plazas, the bill waives the requirement that the authority obtain any State or local permit, or any other environmental permit, that might otherwise be required for the reconfiguration of a barrier toll plaza.

    Finally, the bill authorizes the authority to impose a 40 percent surcharge on tolls paid at a cash toll plaza where a barrier toll plaza has been removed or redesigned. This surcharge would be collected only until the first day of the sixth month following the removal and replacement or redesign of every barrier toll plaza on the parkway. The authority is required to use all revenue derived from the surcharge to defray the costs of removal or redesign of barrier toll plazas.