NJ Senator Mike Doherty (R-23) questioned New Jersey’s outsized spending on transportation infrastructure, saying that he has not found a satisfactory explanation as to why the state pays more than ten times what similarly populous states like Massachusetts pay to fix their roads, bridges and highways
Sweeney Trots out ‘New Jersey – Investing in You’ with Key Senators
They came bearing gifts in the Christmas season, – $174 million’s worth, to be precise – state Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3) and his colleagues in the Senate Democratic Caucus, the statehouse cough-up of seven weeks-worth of round table visits around New Jersey in the respective districts of the senators who now stood sedately at attention with Sweeney. Max Pizarro, PolitickerNJ Read more
As Garden State residents prepare for winter driving conditions, they’re still likely to encounter roads and bridges in continued need of repair, having been ravaged by time, the elements, and insufficient funding. One proposal for addressing our state’s infrastructure needs involves raising the gas tax, which is currently among the lowest in the nation (14.5 cents per gallon). The most recent statewide survey of adults from Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind finds that support for raising the gas tax has increased slightly since January, but so too have doubts that any money raised would be used for its intended purpose. Politicker Staff, PolitickerNJRead more
NJ Poll: Voters Tell Legislators To Keep Their Hands Off The Gas Tax
November 14, 2015 11:45 AM By David Madden
HAMDEN, CT (CBS) – With the general election now in the rear view mirror, New Jersey politicians are expected to take up a number of unpopular issues.
Tops on that list is a bid to increase the state’s gasoline tax. A new poll of Garden State voters suggests drivers want that levy left alone.
The Quinnipiac poll back in April found half of those surveyed might support an increase to help pay for road repair and such. That was the first time in eleven years the number got that high, according to pollster Mickey Carroll.
This latest poll, taken after the November Third general election, showed that support was short lived.
“People don’t like it 62 to 35,” Carroll told KYW Newsradio. “But legislators who have to decide what to do with a nearly bankrupt Transportation Trust Fund are said to be going for it.”
NOVEMBER 12, 2015 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY JOHN CICHOWSKI
THE RECORD
Ping!
As anyone with one foot on the gas pedal and an eye on the GPS knows, that sound is technology’s quaint way of telling us there’s traffic congestion ahead – a turn of events that can make grown-ups talk back to their global positioning systems.
“Tell me something I didn’t know,” I told the noisy little screen on my dashboard.
When you drive on Route 17, you expect such things. It was Monday and my Honda and I were approaching the Garden State Parkway in Paramus where crews were toiling at revising a connection that might someday make moving between these two asphalt marvels the kind of safer, seamless driving experience it should be.
But no, this wasn’t the sour song that my GPS was singing or pinging about. This backup was centered on the Ridgewood Avenue exits where a new restaurant is being built. It’s the same location that a persistent caller, Richard Compagnone, had been telling me about.
“In 55 years of driving, I can’t remember a construction job so small taking so long,” said Compagnone. “What’s going on?”
On the surface, what’s going on is a relatively small job to build a Panera Bread sandwich shop and connect it to necessary pipes and wires. But what was really going on was a tiny example of the daily delays and heart-pounding danger that, according to reader feedback, easily make Route 17 Bergen County’s least-favorite highway. Spurred by low gas prices and population growth, this north-south artery is experiencing some retail growth and even heavier-than-usual traffic.
Opposition persists among most New Jersey residents to raising the tax on gasoline even if it means they’ll get a break in death taxes. Associated Press Read more
It’s the biggest issue nobody seems ready to do anything about. The Transportation Trust Fund, that mechanism for funding bridge and highway maintenance and mass transit projects, is mired in debt and unable to fund much of anything nowadays. But what is this TTF? What was it supposed to do and how did it get so broke. Martin Robbins spent more than a quarter century as a policy planner for the New Jersey Department of Transportation, the Port Authority, NJ Transit and a host of other transportation entities. David Cruz, NJTV News Read more
SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY ADRIAN MOORE
THE RECORD
THE New Jersey Legislature is working hard to figure out how to take more money from you, ostensibly for transportation. Both parties look willing to stick it to taxpayers once again with a gas tax hike of as much as 25 cents per gallon.
That tax hike will hit you directly in the wallet every time you fill up your tank — even if gas prices go down. And it will hit you again in the prices of everything you buy, since companies providing goods and services require transportation and pay fuel taxes as well.
State leaders keep talking about how New Jersey has a transportation funding crisis and the only way, they claim, to fix the roads is to raise taxes. That doesn’t pass the laugh test, though, let alone stand up to any real analysis.
State transportation spending is not falling, and lack of money is not the crisis. According to data that all states report to the federal government, transportation spending in New Jersey on state highways nearly doubled from 2007-2012. New Jersey spends more than $2 million per mile of state roads — more than 12 times the national average.
The real crisis is how transportation money is used. New Jersey spends nine times the national average per mile to build roads and bridges, almost six times the national average per mile to maintain its state highways, and four times the national average per mile on office and administration costs.
While New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and state lawmakers consider a 25-cent a gallon gas tax hike to raise $2 billion a year to fund transportation projects, a war of words and statistics has erupted over the high cost of highways in the Garden State.
New Jersey pays in excess of $2 million a mile per year, more than 12 times higher than the national average, to maintain 3,338 miles of state-administered roads, according to aReason Foundation study.
Three days after a New Jersey Watchdog report, New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner Jamie Fox called the study “inaccurate and unfair” in acolumn published by NJ.com.
“Without the benefit of having the numbers the Reason Foundation used to base its calculations, there is no way to independently review its findings,” Fox wrote.
“That’s strange,” replied David Hartgen, the annual study’s senior author for 21 years. “Our annual highway report is based on data that New Jersey and other states provide themselves to the federal government. And we’ve readily shared the report’s data with state transportation departments and members of the media across the country.”
In his column, Fox argued the Reason study is flawed because it did not take into account increased costs associated with New Jersey’s multi-lane urban highways.
“It’s clear that the $2 million a mile statistic makes a nice headline but doesn’t hold up to scrutiny,” Fox said.
“If the spending per mile metric is punishing New Jersey for having highways that are six or eight lanes wide, as Mr. Fox alleges, then it would make sense that other states with wide highways would suffer too,” Hartgen responded. “But that is not the case.
“California, home to many of the busiest and widest highways in the country, spends $500,000 per mile,” Hartgen said. “New Jersey spends four times that — $2 million per mile. New Jersey spends three times as much as Massachusetts ($675,000 per mile), three-and-a-half times more than Florida ($572,000 per mile), four times as much as New York ($462,000 per mile), and 12 times more than Texas ($157,000 per mile), which is home to six of the 20 most populous cities in America.”
While Fox challenged the $2-million per mile figure from Reason Foundation, a nonpartisan libertarian think-tank, the transportation commissioner did not offer an alternate number.
“There’s no escaping the conclusion that New Jersey spends a lot of money on its state-administered highways and delivers poor performance in return,” Hartgen concluded. “The key question now is what will New Jersey do about it?”
That may be the biggest question of all. The state Transportation Trust Fund is out of cash and faces a $17 billion debt.
Christie is expected to address New Jersey’s highway dilemma Tuesday during the governor’s annual budget address to the State Legislature.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2015, 10:58 AM LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2015, 11:05 AM
BY SALVADOR RIZZO
STATE HOUSE BUREAU |
Governor Christie will not consider legislation to increase the state’s gas tax, unless it is paired with reductions to other taxes in New Jersey, he said Monday.
Christie did not say definitively which taxes should be cut, but he mentioned New Jersey’s estate tax and inheritance tax — noting that New Jersey and Maryland are the only states in the country that have both.
The dual “death taxes” are preventing New Jersey from being “competitive,” Christie said. A common complaint from state residents, he said, boils down to, “It’s not that I can’t afford to live here; I can’t afford to die here.
“Republicans should not be giving away any votes for an increase in the gas tax — none, zero — unless whatever is presented represents tax fairness for the people of New Jersey,” Christie said at a breakfast hosted by the New Jersey Commerce and Industry Association in Morris County.
Christie also made reference to the state income tax and “a number of other taxes that could stand some reducing,” giving few specifics.
Friday, July 17, 2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Senator Bob Menendez held a press conference at the Ridgewood Train station yesterday under heavy security and pushed for more transit funding and union jobs. While it was an interesting choice of venue , a venue that had undergone a controversial $40 million renovation several years ago , which include and elevator to nowhere.
Menendez put forth his 9 Principles for a Public Transportation Reauthorization Bill, with no mention of how this stuff would be paid for or what happened to all the money in the Transportation Trust Fund or what the happened to all the shovel ready jobs from the stimulus package .
The senator was joined by our Mayor Paul Aronsohn for what many would call a union love fest .
“I categorically reject the idea that we can’t afford to fix our transportation system; we can’t afford not to fix it,” said Sen. Menendez, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development, which has jurisdiction over transit. “Let’s stop pretending the transportation problem is going to resolve itself if we just wait long enough. Hundreds of thousands of New Jersey families and millions of Americans rely on a safe, reliable, affordable transit system, and Congress must finally accelerate on real investments and stop putting the brakes on upgrades, innovations and protections.”
“We need a transportation system that drives economic growth and helps communities thrive. Strategically investing in public transit can save families money in the long run, and it reduces congestion on our roads. It also increases economic mobility and job growth, giving people more personal flexibility and freedom to get to work, school, or wherever they need to go. Building tomorrow’s transportation system begins with hard work, careful planning, and smart investments today and these key principles offer a roadmap for making needed infrastructure improvements,” said Sen. Reed, who also serves as the Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD).
“Robust funding and smart policy that ensures that our transit systems remain efficient, safe, and reliable must be a key component of any transportation funding bill,” said Sen. Schumer. “As the Senate Banking Committee works toward a bipartisan bill these principles lay out some basic tenets that the bill should strive to achieve. Without additional investment transit systems across the country will continue to deteriorate, increasing the backlog of critical maintenance projects and jeopardizing the safety of transit riders.”
“By making smart investments in our transit infrastructure, we can create jobs today and build long-term economic growth in the future,” said Senator Merkley. “Oregon has been a longtime leader in innovative development projects, it’s time we incorporate more of these ideas in our national policy. Improving the reliability and efficiency of our public transportation systems is a win-win for workers, businesses, and the environment. At the same time, it makes our cities and towns better places to live, work, and raise a family.”
“A strong public transportation system is good for families, good for business and good for this country,” said Senator Warren. “A 21st Century economy requires a 21st Century transportation system.”
Sen. Menendez made the announcement at a news conference outside the New Jersey Transit rail station in Ridgewood, N.J., where residents rely on public transportation to commute to work.
“For Ridgewood commuters, having access to safe, efficient and reliable mass transit is not just important; it is a way of life,” said Mayor Paul Aronsohn. “We are therefore grateful to all that Senator Menendez is doing to promote these principles for a public transportation reauthorization bill.”
Sen. Menendez argued that transit systems have the potential to spur economic development, revitalize communities, and create new jobs. His policy framework today also received support from the leaders of the New Jersey AFL-CIO, Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), Laborer’s International Union of North America (LiUNA), Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), Bergen County Central Labor Council, International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) and SMART-Transportation.
“We need a strong multi-year transportation funding bill signed into law to improve our economy and strengthen our communities,” said Charles Wowkanech, president of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, which represents one million workers and their families. “Long-term funding allows proper planning and prioritization of our transportation needs, and creates permanent, sustainable jobs that make New Jersey a desirable location for employers and workers alike.”
“The Amalgamated Transit Union proudly stands with Senator Menendez, who recognizes the important role public transportation plays in communities across New Jersey and our country,” ATU State Council Chairman Ray Greaves said. “A long term transportation re-authorization bill will allow us to invest in and strengthen our transportation infrastructure, our mass transit system, and our workforce. It’s no secret that investment in mass transit is good for our economy and it creates jobs.”
“Once again, I commend Senator Menendez for his leadership in promoting the importance of making needed capital investments in our nation’s transportation infrastructure,” said Raymond M. Pocino, VP and Eastern Regional Mgr., Laborer’s International Union of North America. “The Senator’s policy priorities will help fund capital improvements to our region’s transit systems and enhance operational efficiencies. It is critical that we find a solution at the national and local level to fund our extensive transportation network. Without an efficient, mutli-modal transportation system we cannot grow our economy and create jobs, not only for the construction industry but all sectors of industry.”
“The passage of this bill will help New Jersey rebuild its failing infrastructure and create more opportunities for our residents to go to work,” said Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters Executive Secretary-Treasurer Michael Capelli.
“Senator Menendez is a true champion for the commuters of NJ Transit,” said Steve Burkert, General Chairman of SMART-Transportation Division Local 60, which is a member of the NJ Transit Rail Labor Coalition. “We applaud the Senator’s efforts to gain long term funding for NJ Transit. This funding will promote future growth and properly maintain current infrastructure. The safety of the passengers who ride our trains on a daily basis should never be compromised due to budgetary restraints. We stand here today in full support of Senator Menendez and his pursuit of funding the Public Transportation Reauthorization Bill.”
Principles for a Public Transportation Reauthorization Bill
Principle 1: Make sound investments by funding our nation’s transit programs at $115 billion over six years, the level recommended by the President.
Principle 2: Provide predictability and stability through a six-year authorization bill.
Principle 3: Address state of good repair challenges by growing programs including State of Good Repair and Bus and Bus Facilities.
Principle 4: Meet rising demand through increased investment in formula programs and Capital Investment Grants.
Principle 5: Strengthen America’s transit workforce through professional development, training, and robust worker protections.
Principle 6: Create sustainable communities through increased incentives for transit-oriented development
Principle 7: Build big, nationally and regionally significant projects in rural, suburban, and urban communities.
Principle 8: Invest in innovations that support safe, reliable, efficient and environmentally-friendly transit systems.
Principle 9: Improve disaster response by funding the Public Transportation Emergency Relief program.
more of Boyd Lovings photos will be posted durring the day and on the Ridgewood blogs Facebook page
Editors note : once again another editorial that failed to address :
1- what happened to the presidents stimulus money ?
2- where has the TTF money been spent?
3- why does road work cost so much in New Jersey
4- why haven’t we audited the TTF ?
5- we already have enormous revenues from tolls and taxes how is it being spent?
answer any of these questions and you may get some public support for “solutions”June 28, 2015We were disappointed to learn earlier this month that, despite overwhelming opposition from riders and public officials, NJ Transit will be proceeding with the planned fare hikes and service cuts it proposed earlier this year.The action is unavoidable, says NJ Transit, because the agency has a $56 million budget gap; to close it, fares will jump 9 percent, on average, and rail and bus routes will be cut back.This is bad news for commuters, no doubt about it, but it’s bad news for business owners, too. Earlier this month, NJ.com published a report on the median property values along NJ Transit rail lines, and unsurprisingly, people are willing to pay quite a price to live near access to employment hubs such as Newark, Morristown, New Brunswick, Princeton and others. That gives companies incentive to locate in these areas, which gives developers incentive to make investments in these towns, which in turn brings more businesses — especially smaller ones — and powers downtown revitalization. Towns such as Summit and Montclair would be a much tougher sell for commuters if they lacked reliable rail transportation.This is just another example of New Jersey’s poor transportation planning coming home to roost. The depleted Transportation Trust Fund, starved by an insufficient gas tax, has made major rail investment an afterthought. Raising fares is only going to push more cars on the road at rush hour, exacerbating what many consider to be the Garden State’s worst problem, and will harm investment in rail towns by developers and businesses. No one likes a tax hike, but a small increase in the gas tax is preferable to another big transit fare hike. It would be nice if legislators wised up and ensured this is the last increase for the foreseeable future.
Part of the reason we’re here is poor policy. No public transit agency is going to break even, much less turn a profit, but NJ Transit has often been a victim of not getting what it needs from the state, combined with its own share of dunderheaded decisions, such as rail car storage during Sandy. The state must take a hard look at the impact rail service has on municipalities when it thinks about funding infrastructure upgrades or new station construction. And that goes for bus and light rail projects, too — the tremendous impact of the Hudson-Bergen light rail line on property values was long ago demonstrated. Given that the only new jobs being talked about in New Jersey are at casinos or megamalls, professionals are likely to need reliable access to New York to find the work they want — and they’re paying for that privilege.
In economics, experiments are rare. There is seldom a control group. But sometimes crude experiments can be done. Both the passenger and freight rail system in the US were nationalized after “common carrier” price neutrality regulation bankrupted the industries. But then freight rail was privatized, while passenger rail was kept public. Now, the US has the world’s BEST freight and WORST passenger rail.
Freight rail’s renaissance is powering the U.S. economy even without Uncle Sam’s help
By Michael Grunwald @MikeGrunwaldJuly 09, 2012
Congress is gridlocked over infrastructure. On one side, Democrats want to invest in America. On the other side, Republicans want to tighten government’s belt. But there’s one more side to this story. U.S. freight railroads will get $23 billion worth of upgrades this year, and taxpayers won’t pick up the tab. That’s because the railroads build, maintain and improve their own infrastructure and even pay property taxes on their tracks. Also, freight trains are about three times as fuel-efficient as long-haul trucks, which means they help cut smog and reduce the U.S.’s carbon emissions and oil dependence. And forget those accident-prone trains your kids watch on Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends. In reality, shifting freight from roads to rails sharply reduces crashes and congestion.
We don’t think much about freight trains except when they make us wait at intersections or blow their horns while chugging through our towns. The industry evokes images of ruthless Gilded Age monopolies and hapless 1970s bankruptcies. But railroads are one of my favorite special interests–not because they’re less greedy or aggressive than other Washington lobbies but because what’s good for them really does tend to be good for us.
It’s not just that they are self-sufficient and fuel-efficient, employ 175,000 workers and have poured $500 billion into their trains, tracks and terminals since 1980. They are also quite literally the engines of our economy. America’s passenger rail is a global joke, but our freight rail is the envy of the world, carrying over 40% of our intercity cargo. Trains carry much less of Europe’s freight, which is why trucks clog Europe’s highways. And America’s rail-shipping rates are the world’s lowest, reducing the cost of doing business in the U.S.; they’ve fallen 45% in real dollars since the industry was deregulated three decades ago.
The right should love railroads because they’re proof that deregulation can work and the private sector can upgrade infrastructure. The left should love railroads because they fight global warming and provide union jobs. We all should love railroads because they bring us our stuff and keep prices down.
Transportation funding could hit a dead-end at the end of the month. On May 31, the Highway Trust Fund’s authorization to pay for the nation’s highway and mass transit projects will expire.
Even worse, the fund is running a $13 billion cash flow deficit this year and is expected to exhaust all its money sometime in July unless lawmakers take action.
Here’s a snapshot from Heritage’s latest Backgrounder on what you need to know about the Highway Trust Fund:
What is the Highway Trust Fund?
The Highway Trust Fund was established in 1956 to pay for the construction of the Interstate Highway System. Although it was intended to be temporary, it is now the primary federal mechanism to finance transportation projects across the country.
The fund is financed mostly by the gas tax—an 18.3 cent tax on gasoline and a 24.3 cent tax on diesel fuels. It spends over $50 billion every year on roads and mass transit, which includes rail, buses, streetcars and other forms of public transportation.
What’s the problem?
Like most federal programs, the Highway Trust Fund consistently spends more than it receives in revenues. Congress has constantly had to bailout the fund with money from the Treasury in order to keep its balance in the black, and has spent $62 billion covering the fund’s shortfalls since 2008.
This year, the Congressional Budget Office projected the Highway Trust Fund’s spending will top its revenues by $13 billion.
Why is the fund in such bad shape?
Unable to relinquish the taxing and spending authority that should have expired when the Interstate Highway System was completed in the 1980s, Congress has expanded the Highway Trust Fund far beyond its intended scope.
The fund now spends more than ever and diverts billions from roadways to projects that should be left to states and localities. These boondoggles not only include unnecessary mass transit projects, but things like sidewalks, roadside landscaping and bike paths.
And spending increases have vastly outpaced fuel tax revenues, which have flattened as cars have become more fuel efficient. The result is a meandering, unsustainable fund that is plagued by special interests and unreliable for state transportation planning.
What should Congress do about it?
Some members of Congress are saying that they should just provide more money to the trust fund, either through a bailout or a gas tax hike, so that it can continue its profligate spending.
This is the wrong approach.
Congress needs to examine the inherent flaws in the way the nation invests in transportation infrastructure. The current system of taxing drivers and then redistributing their money through the federal government to projects unrelated to highways no longer makes sense.
Instead, Congress should end the top-down approach that breeds inefficiency and special interest handouts at the expense of prudent infrastructure investment.
The right approach would be to let states and localities—which are more in touch with the needs of their citizens—make their own decisions on transportation. Allowing them to tax and spend on infrastructure as they see fit without the interference of Washington would inject a much-needed degree of accountability and reliability into transportation investment.
For more information on the Highway Trust Fund and the upcoming deadline, see Highway Trust Fund Basics: A Primer on Federal Surface Transportation Spending.
Time to Audit the Transpotatioon Trust Fund (TTF)?
APRIL 28, 2015, 6:38 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2015, 7:46 AM
BY CHRISTOPHER MAAG
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
An additional 200 state-owned bridges in New Jersey will become structurally deficient in the next five years — bringing the number of failing structures to nearly 500 and wiping away recent gains by the Transportation Department to reduce its long backlog of bridge repair projects, state officials said this week.
The bridges will be added to the list of 290 state-owned spans that already are defined as deficient, a designation that indicates one of the bridge’s three main elements — the deck, or the structural supports above and below the deck — is failing and needs repair, Transportation Department officials said. It does not necessarily indicate the span is unsafe.
“With the aging infrastructure that we have, this is a problem that’s not going to go away,” said Steve Schapiro, a spokesman for the state Transportation Department.
The decline is inevitable, Schapiro said. The bridges will slide into deficiency whether or not New Jersey voters and elected leaders find new revenue next year for the state’s transportation fund, which is nearly broke. Negotiations between lawmakers and Governor Christie to fix the fund, possibly by raising the gas tax, have ended for the year, Transportation Commissioner Jamie Fox told The Record in March.
State Sen. Paul Sarlo, D-Wood-Ridge, on Tuesday echoed that, telling New Jersey Chamber of Commerce members that a gas tax increase was unlikely because of political concerns.
April 10, 2015 Last updated: Friday, April 10, 2015, 1:21 AM
By John Cichowski
The Record
Like Superman to the rescue, Bill Pascrell Jr. swooped down on his native Paterson on Thursday to save our roads, our rail system and, by extension, the whole federal transportation trust fund.
In a speech inside an NJ Transit bus garage to a crowd of local politicians, transit managers and businessmen, the 10-term congressman unveiled an ambitious plan calling for a $27.5 billion transfusion to bail out the ailing U.S. Transportation Trust Fund that will run dry May 31 if Congress doesn’t reauthorize funding.
“This legislation, if it passes, would provide a consistent, dedicated stream of money to fix our crumbling bridges, roads and transit system for the next 10 years,” he said to applause.
Everybody in this spacious Market Street venue had heard comparable speeches lately to rally the troops behind political efforts to cope with looming state and federal funding shortages that will likely arise if Congress continues to finance transportation with yearly doles that don’t keep up with inflation and increased demand.
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