Bill Text: NJ S1504 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires DOT and DEP to conduct study on options to alleviate congestion on Route 47.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2015-06-01 - Received in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee [S1504 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-S1504-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JEFF VAN DREW
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
SYNOPSIS
Requires DOT and DEP to conduct study on options to alleviate congestion on Route 47.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act requiring a study on alleviating congestion on State Highway Route No. 47 in Cumberland and Cape May Counties.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. State Highway Route No. 55 currently extends from State Highway Route No. 42 in Deptford, Gloucester County, to the area of Port Elizabeth, Maurice River Township, Cumberland County, where it flows into State Highway Route No. 47, which runs throughout Cumberland and Cape May Counties.
b. These highways are utilized as primary routes to reach the New Jersey shore and experience severe congestion in the summer months resulting in an exasperating experience for motorists, tourists and local residents alike, a negative impact on the quality of life in the area, and increased levels of air pollution because of excessive concentrations of vehicles dispersing pollutants into the atmosphere.
c. The Shore Connection Committee was established as a forum of vested State and local parties to evaluate the State Highway Route No. 55 and State Highway Route No. 47 corridor and to reach a consensus as to a range of solutions to be implemented to alleviate the traffic flow difficulties and consequential problems in the area.
d. Following two years of study, in 1998, the Shore Connection Committee issued a report setting forth a proposed improvement program. However, since 1998, the traffic conditions and congestion on State Highway Route No. 47 in Cumberland and Cape May Counties and in the surrounding region have only increased, traffic accidents have caused the loss of life and serious injury, and the citizens of this State have grown weary awaiting relief.
2. The Commissioner of Transportation, in consultation with the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, shall prepare and submit, within one year from the effective date of this act, to the Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee and the Chair of the Assembly Transportation, Public Works and Independent Authorities Committee, or their successor committees, a written report, which sets forth and evaluates the options to alleviate traffic congestion on State Highway Route No. 47 in Cumberland and Cape May Counties and in the surrounding region. The report shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
a. A complete and thorough description of each possible option, including the technology to be utilized in any new construction;
b. A detailed examination as to the extent to which each option could be expected to reduce traffic congestion in the region;
c. An assessment of the estimated costs of each option, including the acquisition of property and rights-of-way;
d. The estimated time of implementation of each option, including the time necessary for permitting;
e. A projection on the number of residences and businesses that would be negatively impacted by each option; and
f. A recommendation as to which option overall is sensitive to the environmental concerns of the region as well as to the feasibility and safety of traffic management and impact in the region.
The report shall include a summary of other possible options which were not considered in the report and set forth the reasons why those options were not identified as feasible options to alleviate congestion in the region.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require the Department of Transportation, in conjunction with the Department of Environmental Protection, to conduct a feasibility study on ways to alleviate congestion on State Highway Route No. 47 in Cumberland and Cape May Counties and in the surrounding region. The report, which must be submitted within one year of the bill's enactment, shall include a description of each possible option, including the technology to be utilized in any new construction; an examination as to the extent to which each option could be expected to reduce traffic congestion in the region; an assessment of the estimated costs of each option, including the acquisition of property and rights-of-way; the estimated time of implementation of each option, including the time necessary for permitting; a projection on the number of residences and businesses that would be negatively impacted by each option; and a recommendation as to which option overall is sensitive to the environmental concerns of the region as well as to the feasibility and safety of traffic management and impact in the region.
