Coastal Evacuation Enhancement Bill Clears NJ Assembly

New Jersey's coastal evacuation preparation methods would be strengthened under a measure that won State Assembly approval this week and now awaits reconcilement in the Senate.

The bill sponsored by State Senator Chris Connors and Assembly members DiAnne Gove and Brian Rumpf (R-9) would implement recommendations issued in 2007 by the Coastal New Jersey Evacuation Task Force. It's undergone numerous refinements for nearly five years before being posted in the Assembly.

Among the requirements would be an annual public awareness campaign by the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management in coordination with affected counties; an expert commission to identify schools that could serve as temporary shelters; a comprehensive lane-reversal strategy encompassing the Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway by New Jersey State Police and the Department of Transportation; coordination of evacuation plans among all coastal and adjacent counties in the Garden State; and a central registry for special-needs individuals.

In the onrush of Hurricane Irene during Labor Day Weekend, Governor Christie ordered the southbound Garden State Parkway closed and suspended toll collections until the crisis passed. However, drivers on the Atlantic City Expressway were limited to its three outbound lanes only, creating a crawling snarl that also jammed the nearby Black Horse Pike - a situation that left Atlantic City OEM officials fuming.

The revised measure now heads to a Senate committee before it can be posted for a vote by the full upper house.