Local activists challenge DOT Route 206 widening project

Byram - Participants in the debate over plans to widen Route 206 through Bryam have taken their concerns to the governor. A coalition of regional, state and local planning, transportation and environmental groups sent a letter to Gov. Jon Corzine, appealing the proposed $26.5 million plan to widen the existing roadway from two to five lanes through the center of Byram. The correspondence challenges a previous letter postmarked for Trenton from Byram Mayor Eskil “Skip” Danielson, who has long supported the Department of Transportation’s plan to ease traffic through a 1.2-mile stretch near the township’s proposed Village Center. “Turning Route 206 into a five-lane highway in Byram will forever change the character of the town,” said Damien Newton, of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, an advocacy group aimed at reversing automobile dependence and sprawl development in the tri-state region. “Worse yet, it will make 206 less safe for pedestrians, and more appealing for truckers using New Jersey as a thruway.” The coalition’s position has the backing of the Byram Township council, which passed a resolution calling for a moratorium on planning and design before ground is broken late this year, despite the staunch opposition of the mayor. Danielson has called the tactics a “stalling mechanism” for addressing traffic problems on Route 206. He said the township has already had traffic engineers look extensively into the project without any luck at changing the minds of DOT officials. The council, which earlier approved funding for private consultants to further study the project, wants the township’s elected officials and citizens to sit down with DOT, along with other government agencies, and planning and conservation groups to address what it believes are unresolved and critical design issues. With a new administration now place in Trenton, the coalition and council believe the timing is right to reopen dialogue. “Together, we are calling upon the governor and (DOT) commissioner to keep this project consistent with the State Plan, smart growth, and context-sensitive design principles,” said Tina Bologna, Highlands project director for the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions. “We believe these new officials care about keeping the character of towns intact, and preserving the environment.” Danielson, who believes butting heads with DOT could jeopardize future state funding for local transportation projects, insists any attempts to delay the Route 206 expansion are probably too little, too late. “DOT is going through with this,” said the mayor. “There’s very little property that has to be acquired. A little bit here. A little bit there.” The township council has said that initial work from the hired consultants have already netted a “more pleasing expansion of the roadway” or “boulevard effect,” including a plan that features three lanes and a center median within DOT’s 61-foot established footprint. Scott Olson, of North Byram Concerned Citizens, said the strict environmental regulations of the Highlands Preservation Act will limit economic growth to within the borders of the state-designated Village Center in the foreseeable future. “Our goal is to devise a plan for roadway improvements that will become a model for addressing transportation needs, not only in the environmentally sensitive Highlands region, but all throughout New Jersey,” said Olson. “Right now, the DOT design doesn’t do that.” Proponents of an alternative plan want Byram to develop its Village Center with an eye toward a boulevard-style design, rather than the “old school” state highway lined by big-box retail stores. “By using Byram’s recently revised zoning and land-use ordinances, we will be able to address the future traffic needs of the motoring public, and create a walkable, pedestrian-friendly business district,” said Olson. DOT plans include 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. At first, Byram had approved the project, which surfaced almost 10 years ago. 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. Any plans for Route 206 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.