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Mayor: Brick Commuters To Be Hardest Hit By Governor's Proposed Toll Increase
By Keith Hagarty
Driving to work from Brick to Clark Township five days a week for over the last 10 years, Jasper Glenn has watched his commuter costs climb each year.
"Gas alone is killing me. It's killing all of us commuters," said Glenn. "Now the governor wants to raise the (Garden State) parkway tolls too? It's getting outrageous to drive anywhere in New Jersey now. Where does it end?"
Glenn, along with several local commuters, and Mayor Stephen Acropolis are upset over Governor Jon Corzine's recent announcement of plans to increase highway tolls in two years.
Under the governor's plan, tolls on the Garden State Parkway, New Jersey Turnpike and Atlantic City Expressway would increase 50 percent in 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022, then increase every four years to reflect inflation until 2085.
In his announcement of the plan last week, Corzine said the proposed highway toll increase is necessary to help offset state debt and fund transportation.
Saying it could place an unfair burden on Brick's countless commuters and roadways, Acropolis presented a resolution to the Township Council this week to officially oppose the plan.
"Brick Township is a bedroom community and there are a great number of residents who use the Garden State Parkway every day," said Acropolis. "Under the governor's proposal, these residents will be looking at significant increases in the amount of their hard earned dollars that go towards commuting costs."
There are currently four interchanges of the Garden State Parkway within, or adjacent to, Brick's borders.
"These toll increases are essentially tax increases," said Acropolis. "We are looking at a lifetime of them."
A Brick resident for 36 years, Geraldine Caggiano agrees with the mayor, believing the toll increases are just another way for the state to pick drivers' pockets.
"I don't like it at all," she said. "I don't drive the parkway as much as I used to, but my daughter does everyday for work. I can't see how we're one of the only states that even make you pay to use so many of our highways. It makes no sense. Maybe if our legislators did a better job of managing our money, we wouldn't always be broke and having to try to play catch up."
Acropolis claims the plan is flawed and unfair to communities whose residents rely on these toll roads.
"We are going to bear the greater financial burden of this plan," he said. "Brick Township's commuters are going to be among the hardest hit in the state."
The fallout from the increasing cost of tolls could also end up having a detrimental impact on Brick's local roads, which are already heavily congested, according to Acropolis.
"Many people use the parkway to bypass the center of Brick Township, or for short trips to nearby towns," Acropolis said. "People are willing to pay the current toll. They might not be so willing to pay the increases, which means more people on Brick's roads."
However, one local commuter doesn't see the harm in a potential toll increase.
"It's just the cost of convenience. Everything goes up. It's just life," said Mantoloking resident Daryl Naigleson. "If you don't want to pay more to use the parkway or turnpike, or wherever, you don't have to. There's always alternate routes you can take. I mean, it may take you a little longer to get where you're going, but no one's holding a gun to your head saying you got to take the parkway or else."
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