pixel_of_moral_decay t1_j528yz1 wrote on January 19, 2023 at 9:57 PM

Reply to comment by anubis2051 in Holland Tunnel Traffic Study Review by moobycow

You can't block them, but you can make life hell for them.

For example, you can ticket everyone who doesn't clear the intersection each time the light changes. Yes, even if you're blocked for a whole light, you can get 2 tickets for not making it out. NYC used to do this aggressively during the "don't block the box" campaign. Get 2 tickets in under 5 minutes and news travels fast.

Really Fulop screwed over JC. We could have changed NJ's laws to prevent through traffic on local streets, something many states prohibit in exchange for the extra lane on 78, which at the end of the day does nothing to JC given it's existing right of way. It's the local traffic that's actually a problem. Force traffic to stay on the highway and there's really no issue. That would have easily worked itself out in Trenton. There's a lot of towns with similar issues.

But now we'll all get a good shot at 4-8 years of Fulop for governor. Which is what people really want around here. The traffic is a sacrifice many are ok with.

moobycow OP t1_j54s1yg wrote on January 20, 2023 at 11:51 AM

Do you have any evidence that we could have changed the laws? I'm not arguing it's a bad idea, but is it something you think could have actually gone through?

NJ fucking hates urban areas, I am skeptical that the votes exist to get rid of through traffic anywhere.

pixel_of_moral_decay t1_j553jxo wrote on January 20, 2023 at 1:39 PM

It’s not just urban areas with this problem. There’s dozens of towns that are “shortcuts” between two highways or ways to avoid some tolls.

A fair number of mayors supported Leonia because they have a similar issue.

moobycow OP t1_j555623 wrote on January 20, 2023 at 1:52 PM

I think it's a good idea, I'd love to see it, but if enough people supported Leonia then that should have been a catalyst to get something done, it wasn't.

NJ is a car first state, we can't agree that congestion pricing into NYC is a good idea and our Gov and other state politicians are trying to widen a highway through a city with no pushback from anyone outside JC.

We can't get state and county roads to have any design other than 'more room for cars', the State DOT is actively antagonistic to complete streets in towns.

I hope/wish you are correct that this is something that could get done, but I don't see it.

pixel_of_moral_decay t1_j555zaj wrote on January 20, 2023 at 1:58 PM

NJ is pretty sensible for the most part.

NJ’s objection to congestion pricing is largely that it’s a tax on NJ while we still have to donate billions to the MTA via federal tax dollars. On top of that NY has been absolutely obstructionist in mass transit between states. They torpedoed the ARC project for new tunnels by capping what they’d contribute to the project and spent decades fighting replacing port authority bus terminal. Even with a new terminal proposed it’s still not as big as NJ wants so it can have more buses. Which is presumably so it doesn’t eat away at congestion pricing revenue, because they’d have to make up the losses via other taxes or program cuts.

NYC pretends to be much more pro transit than it really is. It’s mostly a tax grift.

Could have had new tunnels for NJ Transit and a massively expanded bus system. But NYC shot that down. Don’t forget that.

moobycow OP t1_j55fgob wrote on January 20, 2023 at 3:05 PM

NYC doesn't run their own transit system, so that doesn't help. It's worth keeping in mind that NY State also fucking hates NYC and their Governors have been pretty actively antagonistic toward the city for most of all of our lives.