Jeff Tittel, Director
New Jersey Sierra Club
This week, New Jersey Turnpike Authority released more details about a proposed toll increase. The proposed increases include a 36% increase for the New Jersey Turnpike and a 27% increase for the Garden State Parkway. The money from the toll hike will go toward various projects, including full-
time use of NJ Turnpike exit 19W with direct access to the American Dream Mall in the Meadowlands.
“Using toll money to pay for more direct access to the American Dream Mall is a sham. This mega mall was too costly to build and too costly to visit, and now they want New Jersey commuters to pay for a direct exit from the Turnpike to the mall. This is ridiculous. New Jersey taxpayers already paid for that interchange to be moved originally to allow for direct access to the mall and also paid about $2 million in road and rail improvements to benefit the mall. In addition, taxpayers paid over $1 billion to subsidize this monstrosity of a mall, its customers are being charged to enjoy it, and now commuters are being charged even more,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “This hits commuters in the wallet and doesn’t help them get to work. The mall still owes taxpayers millions of dollars for their mega mall, and now they are taking more money out of our wallets.”
The toll increases would be equally applied to all toll rates, including cash, E-ZPas, peak, off-peak, truck and car rates. The rate for a passenger car on the Turnpike would increase by an average of $1.25 and Parkway tolls by 30 cents.
“The tolls for the Turnpike will go up by an average of $1.25 per trip. That means that the average commuter who takes the Turnpike every day will be paying an additional $600 every year just to get to work. Using that money to benefit the American Scheme mega mall is ridiculous because it has already been the largest corporate subsidy in the state’s history. In addition to these toll hikes, people have to pay $24 for parking, and the daily price to ride American Dream rides will be $80 soon. Combined, that’s more than a season pass at Six Flags and just $5 shy for a daily pass to Disney World,” said Jeff Tittel. “The people who work at the American Dream Mall making $11/hour cannot afford to go there, much less drive there with these toll hikes. To spend a full day at the park could take a full week’s wages.”
This toll hike is estimated to raise more than $500 million. The money will support a capital plan that goes through 2029. There are 53 projects that will widen sections of the Parkway and Turnpike. Both roads will also get cashless toll collection, and full-time use of exit 19W. 19W allows direct access from the Turnpike to the Meadowlands sports complex and is currently only open on event days.
“There is no real traffic program for the bus or train services that are reliable, instead the mall will be car-dependent. The project, which comprises 7.1 million square feet of office and commercial space, in order to be successful, it will need to generate around 120,000 to 150,000 cars a day, gridlocking Bergen County with traffic. Everyday traffic will be like game day at Giants Stadium, and now they want to use toll money to benefit the mall,” said Tittel. “The Murphy Administration has been trying to fix traffic problems by proposing a rail plan that will cost $1-$2 billion while NJ Transit is crumbling. That money could have been used to finish the Bergen-Hudson Light Rail Line or important improvements for NJ Transit. Why should we be paying for a rail to a private mall. They created the problem, why should NJ taxpayers and commuters pay to fix it?”
The mall is an estimated 3 million square feet with more than half of that allotted to entertainment and the other 45% of the space will be for retail. There are 11,000 parking spaces and they share 22,000 with MetLife stadium on non-event days. The American Dream/Xanadu mall sits partly on wetlands in an environmentally sensitive area prone to flooding. Meadowlands resources are important for flood control, fisheries, and migratory birds.
“We have been fighting this mega mall for over 20 years because it is too large, it’s in an environmentally sensitive area, and will cause a lot of pollution and traffic. The American Dream/Xanadu site flooded during Hurricane Sandy. The mall’s water park is built on top of wetlands, which means increasingly vulnerable to the effects of sea level rise and storm surges. Studies have shown the entire area will end up under 3 feet of water. The EPA and Fish & Wildlife under President George W. Bush opposed the project because of environmental impacts on clean air and water, and wildlife,” said Tittel. “Overdeveloping the Meadowlands will not only put more people in danger of flooding, but will actually impact wetlands and the fragile ecosystems.”
Governor Murphy believes this project has provided New Jersey residents with extraordinary opportunities for good-paying construction and building jobs, as well as opportunities for New Jersey’s business owners.
“The billions of dollars for American Dream could’ve been used for building schools and colleges, taking lead out of our drinking water, or cleaning up our toxic sites. Instead, this private enterprise is a one-two punch to our wallets, the billions it took to build it and the high price tag to enjoy its amenities. The American Dream mall shows everything that is wrong about New Jersey,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “By proposing to use toll increases to help pay for direct access to the American Dream Mall, the NJ Transit Authority is failing the commuters of New Jersey.”