Tired of paying too much for parking? News12 New Jersey reports that a new bill, signed by Gov. Phil Murphy earlier this week, allows New Jersey municipalities with more than 100,000 residents to impose a 3.5% tax (shocker) at private parking lots and garages. The law goes into effect immediately.

Under the current parameters, News12 points out, the six cities that will be affected by this are: Jersey City, Paterson, Newark, Edison, Woodbridge and  Elizabeth.

This is NOT a requirement, by the way. If one of the towns listed decides to decline, they are allowed to. News12 reports the law simply gives the towns permission to adopt the tax. Very convenient language, putting the onus on the municipalities. When was the last time a local New Jersey government elected to LEAVE money on the table? Probably before I was born.

A lot of New Jerseyans either commute to work in these cities, or park their cars there and continue their commute to New York City by way of public transportation. Sometimes, even just for a night out, you're paying upward of $20 to $30 for a few hours in a parking facility. Usually, these same facilities will say you're completely on your own when it comes to your car potentially being broken into, or any type of vandalism that could occur. So what exactly is that hefty parking admission fee going toward?

News12 goes on to report the money collected by this tax would go toward improving pedestrian access to mass transit stations, including building tunnels, bridges, walkways, and more. Ahh, sounds a lot like how the money from our eternally increasing tolls will go toward assuring New Jersey has the best top-of-the line roadways in the nation. Meanwhile, in the timeline we actually exist in, there are more potholes in this state than citizens.

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