On Thursday, we reported that local mayors were concerned that the governor’s toll plan likely would push cars from the Turnpike to local roads — in particular, Routes 1 and 130.
Yesterday, the governor released the consultant’s report it used to craft the plan — a report that appears to back the mayor’s contention. According to The Star-Ledger, which offers a nice summary for those who do not want to slog through the entire report (parts I, II, III and IV),
The report forecasts that between 20 percent and 30 percent of traffic on the Turnpike, the Atlantic City Expressway and Route 440 and between 10 percent and 20 percent of the traffic on the Garden State Parkway would turn to other roads, mass transit or freight rail if the Legislature adopts Corzine’s plan to raise tolls four times by 50 percent plus inflation by 2022. Even with the decrease in traffic, the report forecasts huge increases in revenue if Corzine’s toll plan is adopted.
Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri said yesterday the Corzine administration maintains far fewer cars and trucks will leave the toll roads than the report predicts.
For instance, after Turnpike tolls went up by 70 percent for passenger vehicles and 100 percent for trucks in 1991, the volume of passenger vehicles on the Turnpike fell by 5.5 percent and the volume of commercial vehicles fell by 10 percent, according to a memo from Turnpike Authority Executive Director Michael Lapolla. Traffic volumes returned to pre-toll-hike levels within five years.
Not what people in this area need to hear.
South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick
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Hank Kalet 
But Corzine and the politicians won\’t be around when we\’re stuck in all that traffic and trying to figure out how to make ends meet. They will have spent the money to feather their nests and reward hteir firends. And, we\’ll be stuck paying through the nose!
HIGHWAY ROBBERYI never had a problem with toll roads until Some states like Texas started taking our public right of way and tax dollars, both intended for freeways, to create a new monopolistic toll tax on our families.\”Freeway Tolls\” cost more to build and maintain than free roads, and his double tax scheme is allowing his contributers to make out like bandits.An indexed gas tax costs many times less than tolls per mile.Sal \”The Muckraker\” CostelloLEARN MORE HERE:http://salcostello.blogspot.com/