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HappyArtichoke7729 t1_ivbin4w wrote

Suggest to walk or transit and not drive anyway. Then you don't worry about tunnel traffic or any of that other jazz.

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Blecher_onthe_Hudson t1_ivbobsp wrote

Don't want to blow your mind or anything, but sometimes people actually NEED to drive, like an out of JC trip or, like me when I encountered this tunnel traffic shitshow, going to Home Depot for building supplies. And no, they could not be carried home on foot!

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AshIsAWolf t1_ivco96p wrote

We only need to drive because our cities were destroyed for cars.

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pixel_of_moral_decay t1_ivcv8ud wrote

This is a fake argument. Something like 80%+ of Hudson river crossing are > 50 miles. Way beyond the size of NYC or JC. Hell Philadelphia is only about 90 miles away. It's metro area is actually way closer.

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AshIsAWolf t1_ivdwcsq wrote

And most of those crossings could be done by train or bus.

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TheLairdKnows t1_ivdio0b wrote

Plus ambulances and fire trucks.

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Blecher_onthe_Hudson t1_ivdkf4k wrote

That would be tragic if someone died during morning gridlock, but I doubt it would cause change. It's been a decade since Sandy, and absolutely nothing has been done to change our vulnerability there.

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thebruns t1_ivcvzjm wrote

> actually NEED to drive, like an out of JC trip

You might need to sit down for this, but there are trains and buses that leave JC.

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Economy-Cupcake808 t1_ivd6vo6 wrote

News flash but not all towns are serviced by train or bus.

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thebruns t1_ivd884s wrote

Anywhere worth going to is

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Economy-Cupcake808 t1_ivd9j2e wrote

This is a narrow mindset, I have family members who reside on farms, for me it's worth it to visit them

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Blecher_onthe_Hudson t1_ivd1o4c wrote

Taking a kayak on a bus is somewhat difficult, and they don't let you off at the side of the water.

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thebruns t1_ivd87fe wrote

Last I checked you can get on your Kayak in JC

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HappyArtichoke7729 t1_ivbp92o wrote

But all the other motherfuckers in your way could have easily taken public transit, walked, or biked, or rode a scooter, and then there wouldn't be a problem.

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Blecher_onthe_Hudson t1_ivbpx7l wrote

They're not locals, they're just heading to the tunnel. The PA & TPK could easily eliminate all Downtown tunnel transients using the EZ-Pass system, but they have no incentive. To them, DT gridlock is a feature not a bug, otherwise the TPK would not have built and paid for the Jersey Ave Bridge.

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pixel_of_moral_decay t1_ivcvzle wrote

Yup. It actually increases revenue by reducing the milage of a backup and thus reducing traffic getting sent through not Turnpike routes (like the Skyway). There's a reason they sped up that project when the Skyway construction winded down and things reopened. They didn't want that revenue to go away.

And Fulop could have played his hand on traffic downtown, but chose not to because he's done with JC and wants to be governor. He could have offered to back the expansion on the condition local governments could restrict through traffic on local streets when a highway exists (which is the law in most of the world by the way). He'd have gotten lots of mayoral backing around the state (especially places like Fort Lee, but even some more conservative areas that have been having this problem for years with things like the GSP), and political capital to actually pull that off... but piss off some more conservative democrats in the state he needs to win Mayor.

Realistically that would reduce traffic downtown, and since the footprint of the Turnpike doesn't change, it has no real impact on anything for the Turnpike. Traffic on the extension would be relatively constant since the tunnel isn't getting bigg.er Since the Turnpike is funding it themselves, there's not even a financial issue at play.

The only reason he didn't play this card is it would hurt his run for governor.

Also groups like Bike JC have been against any effort to cut down on Turnpike traffic using downtown as a bypass because they feel it will hurt their funding. People annoyed by it support them. People less annoyed less likely to do so. That's the real dirty laundry people don't like seeing written.

It's not a problem that can't be fixed. It's that there's nobody who cares enough to fix it, even if it's not beneficial to them personally.

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HappyArtichoke7729 t1_ivbtndv wrote

Sounds like we need to take their power away and vote for how the money is spent.

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Blecher_onthe_Hudson t1_ivbut9m wrote

Yes! Of course! You're as practical and realistic as always.

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HappyArtichoke7729 t1_ivbv29n wrote

People who are pessimistic are destined for failure

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Blecher_onthe_Hudson t1_ivc388n wrote

People who are unrealistic are doomed to disappointment at best, the wall at worst. Your naïve attitude is like "why doesn't someone tell Putin to stop being so mean?" Until you have the votes, guns, or sometimes both, optimism is idiotic. Ask an Iranian or Venezuelan.

These power structures are powerful and stay powerful because they're really, really good at it. We can't even successfully take on a local self serving teacher's union, never mind appointed and unaccountable statewide and interstate "Authorities".

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HappyArtichoke7729 t1_ivcep0w wrote

We actually could fix this if we collectively decided to. It'd just take actual effort from a lot of folks who don't care to put forth effort.

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Blecher_onthe_Hudson t1_ivczvmh wrote

>It'd just take actual effort from a lot of folks who don't care to put forth effort.

Wow, thanks. I had no idea that was the answer!

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