New Jersey Turnpike

[lstone19]

Or is the GPS doing what it's supposed to be doing...taking you away from a bad jam that you're not aware of. 

Nope. Not when it takes you off the road on to the frontage road, through a long traffic light, and right back on beyond the jam. Had we hit the light perfectly, it would have been slightly faster but since we didn't and I could see the progress of the traffic we just left, it ended up a couple of minutes slower.

[jeffandnicole]

To tie together both discussions...a few months ago I was on the Turnpike's outer roadway, and the GPS desperately wanted me to use the inner roadway. It's routing wanted me to exit at Exit 12,  make a u-turn on the ramp by going over the concrete curbing, and then take the ramp for the car lanes to get back on the Turnpike.

It was nice that it could tell I was literally 24 feet over from the lanes it wanted me to use, but it gave me a horrid, under carriage damaging, illegal way to get there.

[lstone19]

To tie together both discussions...a few months ago I was on the Turnpike's outer roadway, and the GPS desperately wanted me to use the inner roadway. It's routing wanted me to exit at Exit 12,  make a u-turn on the ramp by going over the concrete curbing, and then take the ramp for the car lanes to get back on the Turnpike.

It was nice that it could tell I was literally 24 feet over from the lanes it wanted me to use, but it gave me a horrid, under carriage damaging, illegal way to get there.

OTOH, and without a nav app (years ago), was in the inners and signs were warning of construction delays ahead. Used the next service area to cross to the outers. And then kept going but never seeing any delays on the inners so it cost me 30 seconds.

[roadman65]

 They forgot to shut the sign off probably after a previous delay.

[Alps]

To tie together both discussions...a few months ago I was on the Turnpike's outer roadway, and the GPS desperately wanted me to use the inner roadway. It's routing wanted me to exit at Exit 12,  make a u-turn on the ramp by going over the concrete curbing, and then take the ramp for the car lanes to get back on the Turnpike.

It was nice that it could tell I was literally 24 feet over from the lanes it wanted me to use, but it gave me a horrid, under carriage damaging, illegal way to get there.

I mean, you could hang a Uey at the toll plaza without a curb couldn't you? Or is 12 "special"?

[bluecountry]

You should drive I-95 from the beltway to Fredericksburg, VA.  THAT is where a road needs widened.
The South Jersey traffic is nothing.

I have, and it's torture.  It also doesn't mean that the traffic on the southern piece of the NJ Turnpike is something we should just leave be because bluecountry wants it to "look rural" and can find a more congested road elsewhere.  By that logic, no roads anywhere should be widened because of the congestion on the Cross-Bronx and Brooklyn-Queens Expressways.

There are many other priorities besides having the NJTP 6 lanes from exit 2 south.
MANY more (like having the NJTP be 8 lanes from exit 6 to exit 4).

[jeffandnicole]

You should drive I-95 from the beltway to Fredericksburg, VA.  THAT is where a road needs widened.
The South Jersey traffic is nothing.

I have, and it's torture.  It also doesn't mean that the traffic on the southern piece of the NJ Turnpike is something we should just leave be because bluecountry wants it to "look rural" and can find a more congested road elsewhere.  By that logic, no roads anywhere should be widened because of the congestion on the Cross-Bronx and Brooklyn-Queens Expressways.

There are many other priorities besides having the NJTP 6 lanes from exit 2 south.
MANY more (like having the NJTP be 8 lanes from exit 6 to exit 4).

You don't say.

Did you provide this comment to the NJ Turnpike Authority during their Capital Plan Public Comment period last year? Being you've posted this about 2 dozen times here, it seems important enough you could've made an official comment to them.

[famartin]

You should drive I-95 from the beltway to Fredericksburg, VA.  THAT is where a road needs widened.
The South Jersey traffic is nothing.

I have, and it's torture.  It also doesn't mean that the traffic on the southern piece of the NJ Turnpike is something we should just leave be because bluecountry wants it to "look rural" and can find a more congested road elsewhere.  By that logic, no roads anywhere should be widened because of the congestion on the Cross-Bronx and Brooklyn-Queens Expressways.

There are many other priorities besides having the NJTP 6 lanes from exit 2 south.
MANY more (like having the NJTP be 8 lanes from exit 6 to exit 4).

Disagree, 8 lanes is not as necessary from 6 to 4 as 6 lanes is from 1 to 4. The location of backups makes this obvious.

[sprjus4]

You should drive I-95 from the beltway to Fredericksburg, VA.  THAT is where a road needs widened.
The South Jersey traffic is nothing.

I have, and it's torture.  It also doesn't mean that the traffic on the southern piece of the NJ Turnpike is something we should just leave be because bluecountry wants it to "look rural" and can find a more congested road elsewhere.  By that logic, no roads anywhere should be widened because of the congestion on the Cross-Bronx and Brooklyn-Queens Expressways.

There are many other priorities besides having the NJTP 6 lanes from exit 2 south.
MANY more (like having the NJTP be 8 lanes from exit 6 to exit 4).

NJTP Authority disagrees with you, given they've funded the widening of Exits 1-3 from 4 to 6 lanes.

[roadman65]

Can we put this thing behind us. Obviously you can't change each other's minds over what should receive top priority, so why continue.

[bzakharin]

I am only imagining that the GPS has a lot to do with the added traffic.  Before people used their imagination and plotted routes from looking at a map.  Nowadays if it were not for us road enthusiusts, the maps would be all in download forms.

GPS likely reduced traffic. People are taking more efficient routes, and when it's congested, cars are more spread out on different roads rather than all doing the same thing.

Except that there are millions of drivers that use "dumb" GPS units that do not include congestion in making suggested routings, and always route the shortest path (sometimes avoiding things like ferries, toll roads and toll crossings).  These units provide what is the shortest path, but not always the best path when congestion  is considered, and I can think of one routing in my area that is shorter but has congestion seven days per week.

Are there really that many people still doing that? Surely by now, the smart GPS reigns supreme. It is, in fact, the main reason I use it most of the time.

I haven't seen an truly smart GPSs. When I first plot a route, sure, it will take traffic into account, but if congestion comes up that didn't exist at the start of the trip (this happens during long commutes, and even longer trips almost regularly), it will almost never re-route me without manual intervention (not very safe while driving).

[famartin]

I am only imagining that the GPS has a lot to do with the added traffic.  Before people used their imagination and plotted routes from looking at a map.  Nowadays if it were not for us road enthusiusts, the maps would be all in download forms.

GPS likely reduced traffic. People are taking more efficient routes, and when it's congested, cars are more spread out on different roads rather than all doing the same thing.

Except that there are millions of drivers that use "dumb" GPS units that do not include congestion in making suggested routings, and always route the shortest path (sometimes avoiding things like ferries, toll roads and toll crossings).  These units provide what is the shortest path, but not always the best path when congestion  is considered, and I can think of one routing in my area that is shorter but has congestion seven days per week.

Are there really that many people still doing that? Surely by now, the smart GPS reigns supreme. It is, in fact, the main reason I use it most of the time.

I haven't seen an truly smart GPSs. When I first plot a route, sure, it will take traffic into account, but if congestion comes up that didn't exist at the start of the trip (this happens during long commutes, and even longer trips almost regularly), it will almost never re-route me without manual intervention (not very safe while driving).

Mine does more often reroute me these days than I remember, but usually when I get to a major junction where I have reasonable alternates, I'll rerun the route just to make sure nothing significant changed.

[vdeane]

Not sure about others, but Google Maps uses its traffic data to guess (usually correctly) what the traffic will be like at any given point on a trip and route/calculate trip time accordingly.  That said, I'm not sure what it will do for unexpected congestion (such as from a crash).

[famartin]

Not sure about others, but Google Maps uses its traffic data to guess (usually correctly) what the traffic will be like at any given point on a trip and route/calculate trip time accordingly.  That said, I'm not sure what it will do for unexpected congestion (such as from a crash).

It usually picks up on unexpected congestion as well, but not sure how far in advance it tries to guess it will last.

[bluecountry]

You should drive I-95 from the beltway to Fredericksburg, VA.  THAT is where a road needs widened.
The South Jersey traffic is nothing.

I have, and it's torture.  It also doesn't mean that the traffic on the southern piece of the NJ Turnpike is something we should just leave be because bluecountry wants it to "look rural" and can find a more congested road elsewhere.  By that logic, no roads anywhere should be widened because of the congestion on the Cross-Bronx and Brooklyn-Queens Expressways.

There are many other priorities besides having the NJTP 6 lanes from exit 2 south.
MANY more (like having the NJTP be 8 lanes from exit 6 to exit 4).

Disagree, 8 lanes is not as necessary from 6 to 4 as 6 lanes is from 1 to 4. The location of backups makes this obvious.

I vehemently disagree.  I drive this all the time.
I just do not see the need for 6 lanes south of exit 3.
Sorry, I am not in traffic jams, I am 65+.

Drive I-95 in northern MD, or between DC/BAL, or VA from Richmond to Springfield, THAT requires expansion...this...no...

[famartin]

You should drive I-95 from the beltway to Fredericksburg, VA.  THAT is where a road needs widened.
The South Jersey traffic is nothing.

I have, and it's torture.  It also doesn't mean that the traffic on the southern piece of the NJ Turnpike is something we should just leave be because bluecountry wants it to "look rural" and can find a more congested road elsewhere.  By that logic, no roads anywhere should be widened because of the congestion on the Cross-Bronx and Brooklyn-Queens Expressways.

There are many other priorities besides having the NJTP 6 lanes from exit 2 south.
MANY more (like having the NJTP be 8 lanes from exit 6 to exit 4).

Disagree, 8 lanes is not as necessary from 6 to 4 as 6 lanes is from 1 to 4. The location of backups makes this obvious.

I vehemently disagree.  I drive this all the time.
I just do not see the need for 6 lanes south of exit 3.
Sorry, I am not in traffic jams, I am 65+.

Drive I-95 in northern MD, or between DC/BAL, or VA from Richmond to Springfield, THAT requires expansion...this...no...

You're outnumbered here. Give up.

[Rothman]

You should drive I-95 from the beltway to Fredericksburg, VA.  THAT is where a road needs widened.
The South Jersey traffic is nothing.

I have, and it's torture.  It also doesn't mean that the traffic on the southern piece of the NJ Turnpike is something we should just leave be because bluecountry wants it to "look rural" and can find a more congested road elsewhere.  By that logic, no roads anywhere should be widened because of the congestion on the Cross-Bronx and Brooklyn-Queens Expressways.

There are many other priorities besides having the NJTP 6 lanes from exit 2 south.
MANY more (like having the NJTP be 8 lanes from exit 6 to exit 4).

Disagree, 8 lanes is not as necessary from 6 to 4 as 6 lanes is from 1 to 4. The location of backups makes this obvious.

I vehemently disagree.  I drive this all the time.
I just do not see the need for 6 lanes south of exit 3.
Sorry, I am not in traffic jams, I am 65+.

Drive I-95 in northern MD, or between DC/BAL, or VA from Richmond to Springfield, THAT requires expansion...this...no...

You're outnumbered here. Give up.

Or what?

[Alps]

Or I'm gonna be handing out warnings like candy. STOP talking about this and get back to other topics.

[RobbieL2415]

White on brown is also used for "Six Flags" on a sign approaching Exit 7A.

That makes more sense, as I believe the white on brown is intended for recreational and cultural centers etc. Hence why it's confusing for it to be used for EWR.

MA uses green for Six Flags New England.

CT uses brown for the same park, albeit on a small aluminum sign on I-91 N that just says "Amusement Park | Exit 47W".  Me thinks the town of Suffield does not want park traffic using CT 159.
CT uses brown for Lake Compounce and Quassy.

[storm2k]

Next two service areas on the Turnpike closing for renovation

The Woodrow Wilson Service Area on the northbound Turnpike between interchanges 7 and 7A closed last week.

The Molly Pitcher Service Area on the southbound Turnpike between interchanges 8A and 8 is scheduled to close this week.

Not sure if they will both be full knockdown and rebuilds, or just gut and renos. Molly Pitcher was completely rebuilt in the early 1990s which is why the buildiong looks different than any of the other not yet replaced service areas. Woodrow Wilson was one of the old ones that got the facelift in the early 2000s.

Of note is that Applegreen is now the food concession vendor that will handle the restaurant options in the service areas. Did HMS Host sell their concessions for the NJTA's service areas at some point and I missed that, or did they get out of this market segment completely?

[Flyer78]

From https://www.nj.com/news/2021/05/company-that-runs-turnpike-parkway-service-areas-to-be-sold-for-375m.html

HMS Host, which operates the 20 Turnpike and Parkway areas, is selling its American toll road business for $375 million to Iris Buyer, LLC, a consortium of Blackstone Infrastructure Partners, an investment firm, and Dublin based Applegreen LTD, which operates highway service areas in Europe and the U.S., and B&J Holdings LTD, according a statement from Autogrill, HMS Host parent company.

[storm2k]

From https://www.nj.com/news/2021/05/company-that-runs-turnpike-parkway-service-areas-to-be-sold-for-375m.html

HMS Host, which operates the 20 Turnpike and Parkway areas, is selling its American toll road business for $375 million to Iris Buyer, LLC, a consortium of Blackstone Infrastructure Partners, an investment firm, and Dublin based Applegreen LTD, which operates highway service areas in Europe and the U.S., and B&J Holdings LTD, according a statement from Autogrill, HMS Host parent company.

OK, thanks. I did miss this story.

[kernals12]

How feasible would it be to introduce variable pricing across the turnpike?

[jeffandnicole]

How feasible would it be to introduce variable pricing across the turnpike?

The have a very basic form of variable pricing.  EZ Pass off-peak for EZ Pass NJ account holders save roughly 20% or so.  Peak hours are 7-9am, 4-6pm and weekends.

The concept of more variable pricing was discussed in the past, but I think the Turnpike didn't want to push too much on the idea.

[kernals12]

How feasible would it be to introduce variable pricing across the turnpike?

The have a very basic form of variable pricing.  EZ Pass off-peak for EZ Pass NJ account holders save roughly 20% or so.  Peak hours are 7-9am, 4-6pm and weekends.

The concept of more variable pricing was discussed in the past, but I think the Turnpike didn't want to push too much on the idea.

It would give accurate pricing signals that would guide expansion projects.