Byram maps out new strategy to challenge Route 206 plans

Byram - Despite the staunch opposition of the mayor, the council approved funding for private consultants to help discourage the state from expanding Route 206 to five lanes through the center of the township. But if, as mayor Eskil “Skip” Danielson believes, changing the Department of Transportation plans to ease traffic through a 1.2 mile stretch near the township’s proposed Village Center is a dead issue, the council majority wants to make sure there is a fit funeral. “I don’t think it’s ever too late,” said councilwoman Donna Griff. “I don’t want to be sitting here in 10 years and have a five-lane highway running through the center of town with the same traffic problems.” The resolution calls for consulting service agreements with Robert Orr & Associates, and Jeanine Bauer, a transportation attorney/lobbyist, not to exceed $5,000 each to address the council’s lingering concerns about the planned $26.5 million project. Danielson said the township has already had traffic engineers look extensively into the project without any luck at changing the minds of DOT officials. “I think we’re throwing good money out,” he said. “I have a little bit better confidence in the state.” Byram Township Manger Gregg Poff said initial meetings with Robert Orr & Associates have already netted a “more pleasing expansion of the roadway” or “boulevard effect” based on many of the same parameters required by DOT. During a short presentation at this week’s council meeting, Poff displayed preliminary drawings that featured three lanes, including a center turning median, within DOT’s 61-foot established footprint. He noted that commercial buildings alongside the roadway would have parking moved to the rear of the buildings in an arrangement similar to downtown Chester Borough in Morris County. Danielson called the amended recommendation a “stalling mechanism” for addressing traffic problems on Route 206 and “flawed” because it could not be constructed in stages. “I think it’s too little, too late,” he said. “It’s like telling a man with congestive heart failure where his arteries are blocked and then to go out and buy a new suit and you’ll feel a lot better.” The council majority has tried to convince DOT to explore a scaled-down version of the project that includes the realignment of the intersection of Waterloo and Brookwood roads where traffic backs up. Both roads are scheduled to be widened to include a right-turn lane and a shared left-turn and through lanes. “I think widening the road is not the solution,” said councilman Earl Riley. “This is not Route 80.” At first, Byram had approved the project, which surfaced almost 10 years ago, but withdrew support in September, when the council passed a resolution calling for a moratorium on the planning and design before ground is broken late this year. Instead, the council would like to see a phased approach to the realignment of intersections, coordination of traffic lights and various pedestrian-friendly improvements to the area from Alcorn Street to the vicinity of Waterloo Village near the Byram Plaza off Lackawanna Road. The council believes bringing the outside consultants into the mix will make its position more favorable to DOT, which has repeatedly made clear its plans to move ahead with the project. “These are people that will help Byram get what we need to get,” said councilman Louis Esposito, Jr. “We can achieve exactly what DOT is looking for. We’re going to have (the consultants) talk their language.” DOT plans to meet with a cross-section of representatives from concerned Byram advisory councils, Jan. 17, to discuss landscape and aesthetic designs before breaking ground. Griff, who insists on having public input into the upcoming “working sessions” with DOT,” has said the town hasn’t seen enough of a context-sensitive design to sign-off on the project. CSD is a state-backed process that involves a commitment by DOT to encourage collaboration with municipalities so that state projects reflect the goals of the people who live, work, and travel in the area. DOT held its last public hearing in May 2005, the fourth meeting in the past two years, to outline its plans for Route 206 improvements. “I’m for the doing the highway as best as it can be done with context-sensitive design as it is currently laid out,” said Danielson, who fears Byram could risk losing millions of dollars in future state aid if it does not accept DOT’s plans. But the mayor’s objection could well be mute if the state’s depleted Transportation Trust Fund, essential for financing proposed road construction projects in New Jersey, does not get a $600 million infusion from lawmakers by July. Byram officials opposed to the lane expansion are also seeking independent counsel to question the state’s adherence to the Highlands legislation, which restricts development and any construction in the 850,000 region. DOT contends that permits for expansion of the road by up to five lanes were obtained before the Highlands legislation became law two years ago. Commissioner Jack Lettiere has said DOT plans on advancing the project along expeditiously to avoid additional costs in both design and construction.