(TRENTON) – Aiming to ensure historic Jersey shore boardwalks like those in Atlantic City and Wildwood can be enjoyed by beachgoers for years to come, legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo was approved Wednesday by the Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee.
“The Atlantic City boardwalk is 150 years old. The Wildwood boardwalk is 100 years old. Many more iconic walkways that hug the Jersey shore are decades old and in dire need of repair,” said Mazzeo (D-Atlantic). “It’s difficult for municipalities to afford general maintenance of these highly-trafficked areas, let alone the costs of large-scale rehabilitation. This bill creates new avenues to support boardwalk maintenance and revitalization projects so that they may welcome visitors for future generations.”
The measure (A-4894) would amend the State transportation local aid program formula to include boardwalk mileage, which would provide counties and municipalities with the same amount of annual local aid funding for each mile of boardwalk as they would for each mile of road they must maintain. The bill would also amend the definition of public highway to include boardwalks.
Additionally, the legislation would require the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation to allocate at least $4 million per year in grants from the Local Aid Infrastructure Fund to boardwalk projects in State Fiscal Years 2022 through 2031.
“Boardwalks are a mode of transportation for pedestrians, cyclists, trolleys and more. With this bill, boardwalks will be recognized as the transportation infrastructure they are,” said Mazzeo.
The measure now goes to the Assembly Speaker for further review.