Exclusive: NJ service area now requires a toll to leave

NEW JERSEY - A new traffic pattern now requires people visiting a popular rest stop in Bloomfield, New Jersey to pay a toll on their drive in and out.

Connie Chung service area

What we know:

Broad Street was a straight shot to the Connie Chung service area, which locals often describe as a convenient place to grab fast food; the service area houses popular businesses like Chick-Fil-A, a Burger King and a Starbucks.

However, a new traffic pattern will require drivers to get onto the Garden State Parkway in order to leave the service area, meaning they are now subject to a toll.

What they're saying:

FOX 5 NY's Antwan Lewis spoke to a few locals about the updated traffic pattern. One individual told Lewis the change is "a little extra."

Many believe that the change was implemented because Garden State Parkway drivers would exit at the service area and take a local street as a means to avoid paying the toll.

"People use it as a backroads to get to the area that they live in," another person told Lewis. "I guess it's not fair if you're going to use it to skip paying the tolls."

A third individual, Craig Watts, told Lewis, "You know why people do what they do. It all comes down to money. It is what it is."

The other side:

FOX 5 NY reached out to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which owns and operates the Garden State Parkway, for comment on the situation.

New Jersey Turnpike Authority Manager of Media Relations and Public Information, Tom Feeney, provided this statement:

"The Turnpike Authority did a traffic analysis and discovered that a large number of vehicles were leaving the southbound Parkway and cutting through the service area to exit onto Broad Street to avoid the toll on the Watchung Avenue exit. That was not just a toll revenue issue but also a safety issue."

Feeney added, "The parking lot and driveway in the service area are not designed to serve as a Parkway exit ramp. The additional traffic put pedestrians at risk."