Garden State Parkway

[NJRoadfan]

Exit 116 for the Arts Center is signed again....barely. There are little "116" tabs on the signs at the exit gore now, but none on the overhead advance signs. The lack of "Exit" in the tab is a nice throwback to vintage GSP signs.

[roadman65]

Exit 116 for the Arts Center is signed again....barely. There are little "116" tabs on the signs at the exit gore now, but none on the overhead advance signs. The lack of "Exit" in the tab is a nice throwback to vintage GSP signs.

I wonder why the NJTA eliminated the exit numbers in the first place.

[ixnay]

The NJTA lost a court battle over the GSP logo...

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/New-Jersey-Loses-Trademark-Fight-With-Florida-Pizza-Shop-Over-Logo-482917131.html?_osource=taboola-recirc

New Jersey once again has been told to hit the road in its legal battle with a Florida-based pizza franchise over its logo.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office panel found there are similarities between the Garden State Parkway's logo and the one used by Jersey Boardwalk Pizza, but on Monday it dismissed the New Jersey Turnpike Authority's claims, saying the businesses are unrelated.

ixnay

[SignBridge]

This is all the NJTA has to worry about? Pizza shop logos in Florida? Give me a break...........

[jeffandnicole]

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/upper-township-residents-support-exit-interchange/article_7d1483fc-61c2-5786-a284-7cffb537ca7f.html

Upper Township Residents want a full interchange at Exit 20.  Some have said they're even willing to pay a toll for it.  Per the article, the subject was last approached about 20 years ago, and at that time residents were against additional tolls for a full interchange.  It sounds like current day driving habits have convinced some that maybe paying a toll in exchange for an easier and faster ride may be worth it.

The NJTA, who operates the GSP, generally will push along projects faster in which they can recoup their costs.  If they can get people on board with toll booths, expect these ramps to be built relatively quickly (we're still taking several years though).  If people don't want toll booths, don't expect them to be built at all.

The Interchange 9/10/11 traffic light removal project was pushed back many years because Cape May County didn't want tolls added to those interchanges.  It was finally completed a few years ago.

[bzakharin]

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/upper-township-residents-support-exit-interchange/article_7d1483fc-61c2-5786-a284-7cffb537ca7f.html

Upper Township Residents want a full interchange at Exit 20.  Some have said they're even willing to pay a toll for it.  Per the article, the subject was last approached about 20 years ago, and at that time residents were against additional tolls for a full interchange.  It sounds like current day driving habits have convinced some that maybe paying a toll in exchange for an easier and faster ride may be worth it.

The NJTA, who operates the GSP, generally will push along projects faster in which they can recoup their costs.  If they can get people on board with toll booths, expect these ramps to be built relatively quickly (we're still taking several years though).  If people don't want toll booths, don't expect them to be built at all.

The Interchange 9/10/11 traffic light removal project was pushed back many years because Cape May County didn't want tolls added to those interchanges.  It was finally completed a few years ago.

So is that what it would take to consolidated exits 36/37 into a full interchange with the Black Horse Pike and/or Tilton Rd and/or Fire Rd? Or interchange 40 with White Horse Pike?

[jeffandnicole]

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/upper-township-residents-support-exit-interchange/article_7d1483fc-61c2-5786-a284-7cffb537ca7f.html

Upper Township Residents want a full interchange at Exit 20.  Some have said they're even willing to pay a toll for it.  Per the article, the subject was last approached about 20 years ago, and at that time residents were against additional tolls for a full interchange.  It sounds like current day driving habits have convinced some that maybe paying a toll in exchange for an easier and faster ride may be worth it.

The NJTA, who operates the GSP, generally will push along projects faster in which they can recoup their costs.  If they can get people on board with toll booths, expect these ramps to be built relatively quickly (we're still taking several years though).  If people don't want toll booths, don't expect them to be built at all.

The Interchange 9/10/11 traffic light removal project was pushed back many years because Cape May County didn't want tolls added to those interchanges.  It was finally completed a few years ago.

So is that what it would take to consolidated exits 36/37 into a full interchange with the Black Horse Pike and/or Tilton Rd and/or Fire Rd? Or interchange 40 with White Horse Pike?

As they're already working on Exits 36/37, they could've made a full interchange at that time.  Chances are it had more to do with a circulation and weaving issues.

As for Exit 40, it appears there's existing buildings and homes, along with a nearby railroad track, that would make constructing a full interchange more complicated than normal.  It's also in an area where you have competing interests: Some want the additional interchange because of ease of access to the Parkway and Rt. 30, and the ability to add more commercial properties to the area.  Some don't want the interchange, because it'll bring more traffic and more development in the area.

[NJRoadfan]

The widening between Exit 36 and 44 is finally complete and open. That took forever.

[roadman65]

Are they going to complete it to Exit 30?

[Alps]

Are they going to complete it to Exit 30?

Not yet.

[bzakharin]

...whereas the 1/2 mile advance exit tab says "Exit 38 B-A"

I wonder what the southbound sign has?  If it's Exit 38 A-B, then they messed up which sign goes on which side of the road.

The Northbound sign has been patched over to read "Exit 38 A-B".

[storm2k]

NJ.com: It will cost $10M to fix this mess of a Parkway exit

A long awaited $10 million plan to make over a tough-to-navigate Garden State Parkway interchange got a green light on Tuesday.

NJ Turnpike officials approved awarding a $10.89 million construction contract to Earle Asphalt Company to rebuild Exit 109 in Middletown where the Parkway meets Newman Springs Road.

The original $60 million plan was put on a road diet late last year to stretch the New Jersey Turnpike Authority's $7 billion 10-year capital plan that ends this year.

It looks like the Turnpike Authority is on time with this project, based on their previous Public Hearing Handout.

[storm2k]

The Monnmouth Service Area is now closed. It will be demolished and rebuilt under the agreement that the Turnpike Authority signed with HMS Host last year. Plans for the new facility call for a Shake Shack among other amenities to be built there.

Not surprised that they're tearing this down. IIRC, some of those service area buildings on this stretch of the Parkway are from the late 70s or early 80s and outmoded. Haven't seen plans, but expect it will look more or less like the Atlantic City area, which was replaced a couple of years ago.

[storm2k]

Here's big news: Parkway to eliminate exact change lanes at main plazas after years of debate

After years of mulling the change, the baskets will be replaced with full service or E-ZPass-only lanes in the main Parkway toll plazas beginning this month, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority announced Wednesday.

The coin machines are "nearing the end of their useful lives" and "have become expensive and difficult to maintain," the authority stated. Parts from the machines will be used to replace or repair the ones on the entry and exit ramps.

Nearly 83 percent of people who traveled through the toll plazas used the E-ZPass lanes in 2017, the agency said. Just under 5 percent used the coin lanes.

This does not surprise me. I never see too many people rolling through the exact change lanes these days, given that the toll at almost every mainline plaza is 1.50 and most people do not have six quarters on them. Besides, given the stats of how heavy EZ-Pass usage is, this change makes a lot of sense to me. And it does seem like they'll keep the baskets on the ramp tolls since they're usually only 50 cents.

[bzakharin]

I wonder about that. What's your recourse if you don't have E-ZPass (let's say your are visiting from far enough away that they have no tolling system or a different one)? I can't think of any other toll authority doing this. On the AC Expressway and PA turnpike there are E-ZPass only exits, but they are all newly built and have nearby alternative exits available. The only cashless mainline toll is at the Turnpike Delaware River Bridge and that one does not require E-ZPass

[famartin]

So, just out of curiosity, does the NJTA have something against the SJTA, or did they just not feel like putting up proper ACE trailblazers?
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2018-09-11_14_34_56_IMG_1874_will_rename_and_categorize_soon.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2018-09-11_14_06_55_IMG_1868_will_rename_and_categorize_soon.jpg

[PHLBOS]

I wonder about that. What's your recourse if you don't have E-ZPass (let's say your are visiting from far enough away that they have no tolling system or a different one)?

In the case of the Garden State Parkway, they're only eliminating the exact change lanes not the (full-service) cash lanes.  In general, once tolls at the booth start exceeding $1; exact change can be cumbersome & IMHO no longer needed.  If AET is ultimately adopted later; Toll-By-Plate will be done for those without E-ZPass, similar to what's been done on other AET facilities.

Back in the late 80s, when the toll for the Sumner Tunnel in Boston rose from 60 cents to a dollar; the Mass. Turnpike Authority eliminated all their exact-change lanes and experienced no known additional traffic back-ups as a result of such (this was pre-Fast-Lane/E-ZPass).

So, just out of curiosity, does the NJTA have something against the SJTA, or did they just not feel like putting up proper ACE trailblazers?

Not to mention the fact that the interchange signage completely ignores Philadelphia.  The old signs listed both Camden & Philly.  Had NJTA used the ACE shield instead of text; a sign containing both Camden & Philadelphia listings would've probably been smaller than the current signs.

[roadman]

By coincidence, on Sunday when cleaning out my spare room, I found half a roll of GSP tokens that I saved from the glovebox of my 1988 Prelude before I traded it in 18 years ago.

[jeffandnicole]

I wonder about that. What's your recourse if you don't have E-ZPass (let's say your are visiting from far enough away that they have no tolling system or a different one)?

In the case of the Garden State Parkway, they're only eliminating the exact change lanes not the (full-service) cash lanes.  In general, once tolls at the booth start exceeding $1; exact change can be cumbersome & IMHO no longer needed.  If AET is ultimately adopted later; Toll-By-Plate will be done for those without E-ZPass, similar to what's been done on other AET facilities.

Back in the late 80s, when the toll for the Sumner Tunnel in Boston rose from 60 cents to a dollar; the Mass. Turnpike Authority eliminated all their exact-change lanes and experienced no known additional traffic back-ups as a result of such (this was pre-Fast-Lane/E-ZPass).

When the DRPA bridges from NJ to the Philly area went from 90 cents per direction to $2 one way, same thing - they eliminated the baskets.  It would be several years before toll plaza congestion went down though, which occurred when EZ Pass started.

[Brandon]

I wonder about that. What's your recourse if you don't have E-ZPass (let's say your are visiting from far enough away that they have no tolling system or a different one)? I can't think of any other toll authority doing this. On the AC Expressway and PA turnpike there are E-ZPass only exits, but they are all newly built and have nearby alternative exits available. The only cashless mainline toll is at the Turnpike Delaware River Bridge and that one does not require E-ZPass

They could follow their fellow EZ Pass Consortium member (ISTHA) and allow 7 days to pay a cash rate online (soon to be 14 days).

[jeffandnicole]

I wonder about that. What's your recourse if you don't have E-ZPass (let's say your are visiting from far enough away that they have no tolling system or a different one)? I can't think of any other toll authority doing this. On the AC Expressway and PA turnpike there are E-ZPass only exits, but they are all newly built and have nearby alternative exits available. The only cashless mainline toll is at the Turnpike Delaware River Bridge and that one does not require E-ZPass

They could follow their fellow EZ Pass Consortium member (ISTHA) and allow 7 days to pay a cash rate online (soon to be 14 days).

NJ has always believed that they are providing cash payers a huge favor by keeping toll employees available to begin with.  If they ignore the signs and use the wrong lanes, they're not giving them an additional opportunity to fly thru the EZ Pass only lanes then pay up later.

I think if the NJ tolls do go EZ Pass only, they will at that time provide a toll-by-plate option.

[Alps]

RE: ACE signing, that was a conscious decision because the ACE shield doesn't have enough recognition and the text is too small to be legible at speed.

[bzakharin]

RE: ACE signing, that was a conscious decision because the ACE shield doesn't have enough recognition and the text is too small to be legible at speed.

Whell NJTA is still spelling out "Garden State PARKWAY" on Turnpike exit 11 signs until after the toll barrier even though they are owned by the same agency and I'm guessing there are no shield recognition issues. Then again the Turnpike hasn't even used its own trailblazer on pull-thrus until recently.

[BrianP]

RE: ACE signing, that was a conscious decision because the ACE shield doesn't have enough recognition and the text is too small to be legible at speed.

While the text too small is a reasonable argument, the recognition part is bull IMO.  I think the symbol for the road has been used enough by the SJTA and NJDOT to be recognizable. Plus I'm not convinced people know the Parkway symbol by the text on the shield.  I think they recognize the symbol of the shield the same way as the ACE.  The symbols of the three tolls roads are probably known more by their colors than anything else.  Is the ACE symbol as well known as the others? No.  But that's not what's relevant here.  If the exit was being signed by the symbol alone then I would agree it is insufficient.  But the symbol would help reinforce the recognition of the exit, especially when you include the historical precedent of how the exit was signed with the symbol before this change. 

[famartin]

RE: ACE signing, that was a conscious decision because the ACE shield doesn't have enough recognition and the text is too small to be legible at speed.

That argument would suggest not signing the Parkway and Turnpike trailblazers either, since neither of them can be read at speed either.  Anyone not familiar with the area driving around probably has no clue what they are until they take a closer look.  It is kind of a disservice to the SJTA to not have included it, since the obvious goal of including the NJTP and GSP symbol in signs is to increase recognition.