- Some Congestion Pricing Foes Change Or Open Their Minds
- Texas Bill Would Authorize Municipal Closure Of Any Toll Road In Unsafe Condition
- These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
- Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona duit.
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Some Congestion Pricing Foes Change Or Open Their Minds
Courthouse News Service talks to one-time congestion pricing skeptics who now support the program because of changes it’s brought over the first two months of operation. A Fort Lee, New Jersey, resident who was convinced tolling would increase congestion in his neighborhood reports it has actually had the opposite effect. George Washington Bridge traffic that once choked Fort Lee streets has undergone a “transformational” change, he says. He’s also seen an improvement in the time it takes to drive into New York. A Wayne, New Jersey, commuter to midtown Manhattan who once fretted about the cost of tolls has changed his mind. He reports his bus trips, which previously took as long as 80 minutes, are now as short as 25 minutes. The article notes that the program still faces significant opposition, but the anecdotes mirror recent poll results that show growing public acceptance of congestion pricing.
One of the main concerns of MTA program opponents is that drivers looking to avoid midtown tolls will increase traffic congestion and pollution in metro areas beyond Manhattan. SILive.com columnist Tom Wrobleski, no friend of the program, takes note of a small increase in Verrazzano Narrows Bridge traffic that coincides with the recent reduction of vehicle traffic into the Manhattan congestion zone. However, he acknowledges the “numbers fall below an increase in outer-borough traffic predicted in the MTA’s environmental assessment.”
Congestion Pricing George Washington Bridge Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New Jersey New York New York City Toll Avoidance and DiversionTexas Bill Would Authorize Municipal Closure Of Any Toll Road In Unsafe Condition
Texas House Bill 5376, known as Tiffany’s Law, is named after a victim of the 2021 pileup on the I-35 West segment operated by NTE Mobility Partners (NTE). According to The Dallas Morning News, the legislation “would allow any municipality across the state to restrict the use of a toll road within city limits when it deems conditions on the stretch of highway are unsafe for motorists.”
The 2021 crash followed a day and a half of freezing temperatures and fluctuating precipitation in Dallas-Fort Worth. A 2024 Morning News investigative report claimed decision-making by NTE and lack of oversight by TxDOT contributed to the crash, which involved more than 130 vehicles and multiple fatalities. A lawsuit brought by survivors is scheduled to start this summer.
HB 5376 is one of at least 19 bills that have been filed this year by lawmakers seeking to change various aspects of state toll road policy. The sponsor, Representative Ramon Romero (D-90), says NTE has been unwilling to address concerns about I-35 W design that he has raised.
Asked to comment on Romero’s bill, NTE said it hadn’t had time to conduct a review.
Cintra US Dallas-Ft. Worth Metro Region (DFW) Express Lanes Ferrovial Highway-Tunnel-Bridge Maintenance Highway-Tunnel-Bridge Safety (Includes COVID-19 Impacts) Issues of Law NTE Mobility Partners P3 & Privatization Texas Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) TEXpress Lanes (Dallas-Ft Worth)These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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