Some South Jersey Mayors Like Corzine's Toll Hike Idea
by KYW's Ed Kasuba
On Wednesday we told you that AAA in New Jersey was concerned that substantially higher highway tolls would result in more drivers using local roadways, resulting in increased maintenance costs for local towns (see previous story).
Now, some South Jersey mayors are saying it may not be a bad idea to have that extra traffic coming through their towns.
John DiDonato, mayor of Hammonton, NJ (above) says he prefers the "glass half full" philosophy. Although increased traffic could put a strain on local roads, he says, increased traffic could be a plus for local businesses:
"From the point of people jumping off the (Atlantic City) Expressway or bypassing the (Garden State) Parkway and coming down (Route) 206, they are going to go through our downtown. They are going to go down through our White Horse Pike, and its going to increase traffic. But its also probably going to increase rateable growth in the community because you are going to have more people coming through our town.
Mayors in Tuckerton (Ocean County) and Buena Vista Township (Atlantic County) were saying much the same thing.
I like the Mayor's "glass half full" way of looking at Governor Corzine's plan. While no one likes the idea of tolls going up, at least if the town gets more business and ratables then maybe their can be a nice silver lining that comes out of this plan. It looks like other Mayors in surrounding communities agree.
nice silver lining? who do you think has to pay for all the local road repairs from the increased traffic. look how bad cross traffic is now. do you really think that's affordable.
nice silver lining? who do you think has to pay for all the local road repairs from the increased traffic. look how bad cross traffic is now. do you really think that's affordable.
Doing nothing is what is not affordable. Route 206 and Route 30 are not town roads. This will bring more business to the White Horse Pike businesses. More business, more jobs, more ratables. Hammonton was once dubbed the hub of South Jersey. Hopefully now we can get some growth and opportunities for businesses townwide.