What are the reasons for New Jersey’s lawsuit to block New York’s plan against traffic congestion?
New Jersey is going to court to block the Big Apple’s plan to impose daily tolls of up to $23 on vehicles entering downtown Manhattan to fight congestion.
New Jersey is filing a lawsuit to block New York City’s plan to charge drivers tolls of up to $23 per day when they enter downtown Manhattan, in a landmark scheme to fight congestion.
New Jersey is suing the US Department of Transportation which gave the plan, called the Central Business District Tolling Program, the green light.
What are the reasons for New Jersey’s lawsuit to block New York’s plan against traffic congestion?
According to the lawsuit filed in the US District Court in Newark, the federal highway administration did not perform an adequate environmental review of the project.
The New Jersey government said the department paid no heed to the negative financial and environmental effects the plan would impose on their state’s residents. They said federal approval was misguided and violates the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires the federal government to hold comprehensive reviews of proposals that could have a great impact on the environment.
New York City’s plan, the first congestion price program in the country, is scheduled to begin as early as spring next year. The project aims to reduce pollution and improve public transit.
New York suffers the world traffic congestion in the US
New Jersey says they would be on the losing end of the deal because some motorists would likely reroute into the state to avoid the daily toll, yet the state would not receive money from New Yorkers.
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The lawsuit says that the anti-congestion plan will result in New Jersey bearing the environmental, human, and financial burden without receiving any of its benefits.
New York, which suffers the worst traffic congestion in the US, last year said that the new toll would decrease traffic and increase the use of mass transit by 1-2%. Revenue from the charge is projected to reach $1 billion to $1.5 billion annually, and support $15 billion in debt financing for the development of mass transportation.