New Jersey governor says will freeze tolls after saying he'd revive 'monetization' on smaller scale

A close political race for state governor in New Jersey, and accusations that incumbent Gov Jon Corzine was reviving his 2006 plan for monetization of the Turnpike produced a commitment to freeze tolls during his next term. "No toll increases, no leasing of the turnpike...Off the table. Not happening, period." That's how Gov Corzine spoke today after tolls became a furore that he judged threatened his re-election.

Gov Corzine, Democrat, is in a close political race with Republican Chris Christie.

He was quoted in the New York Times Thursday as saying his previous plan for 'monetizing' the Turnpike based on increases of as much as 800% in toll rates by 2022 was  “too big, too fast, at the wrong time."

The size of toll increases was unacceptable, Corzine said, because of the developing recession.

"Maybe we just need to scale it back..."

But, as reported yesterday by the NY Times, he said "the idea worked” and he added: "So maybe we just need to scale it back.”

In 2008 Corzine said he was abandoning the monetization plan. He couldn't get legislative support. However toll rates were increased by 40% with a commitment then to another 40% increase in 2012.

Corzine had floated mini-monetization before

Gannett's state reporter Michael Symons writes that in a debate at William Paterson University Oct 16 Corzine said:

"There's no question that the plan that I laid down (for monetization of the Turnpike) was too much, too fast for the circumstances, particularly within the context of a recession that we took on.

"But the problems that underlie what we were attempting to accomplish — pay down debt by a half, make sure that we had the resources to be able to fund quality transportation system and to make sure that we provided for open space — was what we had the conversation with the public about."

"We still have to fix those problems. Unattractive alternatives are fundamental to how you will be able to do that. But we need to make sure that we're moving forward and address that."

"New York Times got it wrong"

Today Corzine said the New York Times "got it wrong."

He said he was talking about how "we may raise money out of our reststops on properties that surround the turnpike."

COMMENT: There is no serious extra money in rest stops or land along the New Jersey Turnpike.

Rest stops are already contracted as concessions having been auctioned to the highest bidder.

The Turnpike needs more land for widening, and any land it has to sell is low value because of utility easements, traffic noise and difficulties of access.

Most toll authorities periodically look at what land they can sell, and what extra income they can get from non-toll activities in order to avoid unpopular toll increases. There's usually not much there.

Accusing the New York Times of misreporting him is a classic case of shooting the messenger. They appear to have reported him quite accurately. However what he had said suddenly became a political liability, so he needed to "unsay" it by denouncing their quite accurate reporting.

TOLLROADSnews 2009-10-30