State Senator Nicholas Asselta

ASSELTA BILL WILL MANDATE NORTH BOUND TOLL REMOVAL
Turnpike Authority Will Be Forced To Listen to Local Residents Concerns

Senator Nicholas Asselta, (R-1), is drafting legislation which would require the New Jersey Turnpike Authority to remove toll barriers on the north bound side of the Garden State Parkway at the Great Egg and Cape May toll plazas, leaving the south bound toll barriers in place. Removal of the barriers on the north bound side of the road would facilitate evacuation plans in the event of disaster, such as a fast moving hurricane.
Senator Nicholas Asselta, (R-1), is drafting legislation which would require the New Jersey Turnpike Authority to remove toll barriers on the north bound side of the Garden State Parkway at the Great Egg and Cape May toll plazas, leaving the south bound toll barriers in place. Removal of the barriers on the north bound side of the road would facilitate evacuation plans in the event of disaster, such as a fast moving hurricane.
“Once again we are witnessing disinterested North Jersey bureaucrats ignoring not just the wishes, but the safety and well being, of South Jersey residents,� Asselta stated. “It is time that the Turnpike Authority take note of the needs of those who live in the southern half of the state.�
The current plan being advanced by the Turnpike Authority would mandate the removal of one toll plaza on the south bound side and one toll plaza on the north bound side of the Parkway at the Great Egg and Cape May toll barriers. The Asselta legislation would mandate the removal of both of the north bound toll barriers at the Great Egg and Cape May toll plazas.
“The Turnpike Authority should take into account the safety and welfare of the local citizens when it decides what changes it makes to one of the regions major evacuation routes. According to published reports, the Federal Emergency Management Agency ranks Cape May County the 6th most difficult region in the nation to evacuate in the event of a rapidly developing emergency. It is even more critical now that the Beesley’s Point Bridge is inoperative that we address this issue. After witnessing the tragedy in New Orleans you would think that the bureaucrats at the Turnpike would apply a little common sense and remove the barriers on the north bound side,� Asselta concluded.