Road project motives questions

To the Editor: On Feb. 7, I attended a planning board meeting where the Sussex County engineers presented their revised plans for Sparta-Newton Road. I was specifically interested in Sparta Ave., since I live on it. The engineers did a nice job depicting what the county wants to do. They gave a nice presentation with impressive pictures, convincing statistics and were real professional. Of course, you had to be a total idiot not to see through their hype. The audience started to question the county engineers and their hired consultant about the specifics of the plan. It finally came out that the reason they selected Sparta-Newton Road was that this road gave them the best chance of convincing the state to fund the improvements. The county engineers stated that their reason for the road improvement was safely and traffic volume. They said that in the last five years there were 40 accidents on Sparta-Newton road, including deer hits. They also stated that between 20,000 and 25,000 cars moved on Sparta-Newton Road in a day. They estimated that the traffic would grow one percent a year for the next 10 years. So, how did the county suggest these problems be rectified? They want more lights and jug handles. Between Pope John and the Stop & Shop - five lights and two jug handles. Plus, they decided to reduce the speed on the road. Pure genius! Only the government could speed things up by slowing them down. Of course, we would eliminate those nasty .6 accidents per month. Hey, if cars don’t move the chances of having an accident is reduced. This is a fact. Now, I was thinking about the county’s estimates. They said between 20,000 and 25,000 cars per day. Well, which one is it - 20,000 or 25,000? If it were 20,000 and using their growth estimate of one percent for 10 years, we would be under the 25,000 in 10 years. And, if the road can take that volume now, why not in 10 years. Okay, maybe it’s 25,000. Then we’d be at around 30,000? Big deal! Maybe some minor changes to the road may speed things along. How about a left hand turning lane near the Stop & Shop light. Keep that light green 10 seconds longer and see what happens. And, we could use some turning lanes near Sawmill and other locations on the road. Do we need jug handles? Hey, I want to keep the engineers happy. Jug handles would add a challenge to their job. They would be environmental issues to resolve and dropping the road, blasting and all kinds of things that must make an engineer’s mouth water. But wait, here’s an idea. And, a real challenge. Figure out a way to get the traffic to Route 15 without destroying the little town I live in. One member of the audience asked the county if they knew the state was planning a road through the industrial area of Sparta (near Limeceast) to Route 15. They didn’t know about that. Or maybe they did. You see, I got the impression it wasn’t about solving the problem, but getting the funding. Another thing I was disheartened by was the Sparta Planning Board’s acceptance of the county’s assertion that their numbers were correct. 20,000 cars a day? What day? What time of day was the traffic the heaviest? I think I can guess. I need to know the Planning Board validated these numbers. Hell, hire a consultant if they don’t know how. Find out what consulting company the county hired and hire their biggest competitor. It did seem that a few members of the board drank the cool aid and were ready to go. Especially the engineers on the board. I’m sure the pictures impressed them. I want the board to do their job. So, here it is. The county wants to rush people to Route 15 so they can sit in Jefferson at the lights, or wait to get on Route 80 near the mall. In the process, Sparta Ave. will no longer be a nice county road, but a main thoroughfare for all of Sussex County. But, the engineers will be happy. The Sparta Planning Board votes again on March 7. Don’t sit around and let someone else make the rules. Let them know you want to see alternatives! Mike Lucio Sparta