The plan for congestion pricing to arrive in New York City may be chugging along, but not if New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has anything to say about it.
Murphy announced Friday morning that he is planning to sue the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) over the plan, in a move he said was done in order to stand up for drivers.
"The problem is New Jersey's not at that table. With all due respect to the MTA, a lot of our commuters are going to be the ones they're looking to to solve their financial crisis. Which is unacceptable," the governor said in a TV interview.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has long argued the additional tolls would raise nearly a billion dollars in revenue for the agency and ease traffic issues on city streets. Crews were seen Friday morning installing scanners on Manhattan's West Side, part of the MTA's plan that would charge drivers entering Manhattan below 60th Street.
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But Gov. Murphy says the plan would have a disastrous impact on New Jersey families. In announcing plans for a federal lawsuit, he argued the FHA should have conducted more studies into the impact congestion pricing would have on New Jersey, and that Garden State lawmakers should have had more of a chance to weigh in. Murphy also said the plan went ahead with a full environmental impact study.
"We would not be taking this legal action if we did not believe there was a real likelihood that we could call a timeout here, let's do the full-bore study," Murphy said. "And by the way, I'll say publicly what I've said privately: we'll live with the results. If they do the full study and it comes out in a way that doesn't advantage us, then we're going to have to figure it out."
Murphy added that the state can't sue the MTA over congestion pricing until the plan is finalized, but didn't rule out another lawsuit being possible, or even an injunction. As of now, there still isn't anything set to go in place, as prices have not yet even been set yet.
Earlier this week, the Traffic Mobility Review Board met for the first time on the proposed toll that could be as high as $23 during peak times. After the feds gave the plan the green light, MTA officials have said congestion pricing could go into effect as early as April 2024.
