Byram only has one shot to get Route 206 right

To the Editor: According to New York Times columnist David Brooks, citing research by Brookings Institution scholar Arthur C. Nelson, “Half of the buildings in which Americans will live, play and work in the year 2030 don’t even exist yet.” The vision presented on Jan. 17 by Robert Orr and Associates for Byram’s village center may well be a 20-year plan — the total build-out won’t happen overnight. But it will be well under way within five years, if you act swiftly and firmly to ensure a strong foundation for it’s success. That foundation is best detailed in the Orr and Associates plan for Route 206 through the heart of our center, not a five-lane, 62-foot wide slab of asphalt, as proposed by the N.J. Dept. of Transportation. The outdated thinking and cookie-cutter planning by that department will destroy any possibility of achieving Byram’s vision for a walkable, human-scale and pedestrian-friendly village center. Many supportive people in state agencies, non-profits, and activists groups can help us fulfill our dreams — all they need is for you to reach out and ask for their help. I urge you, as Byram’s governing body, to take that important first step quickly. I don’t think I need to remind you (but I will) that you’ve only got one shot at making this right. Bad planning — both in pavement and in buildings — lasts a lifetime. Don’t let yet another ugly strip-mall-lined N.J. highway be your lasting legacy to our community. The town’s voters elected you in the hopes that your vision and leadership would set in motion the plans for Byram’s future. Do the right thing for Byram, and continue to push forward with the Robert Orr and Associates plans for our village center corridor. Scott Olson Byram Township