North Jersey Plan Warns of Widespread Gridlock
The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority's (NJTPA) draft long range transportation plan says traffic congestion will get much worse in the next twelve years unless decision-makers meet a projected 18% traffic increase with new policy tools. The plan says about $8.3 billion will be available for transportation projects over the next six years. Two-thirds of that will be needed for upkeep and operation of the existing system. One-third of the remainder will be devoted to widening or building roads and the rest will boost transit capacity. Yet, like many Tri-State area policy pronouncements, including the NJ State long range transportation plan, the document says the region cannot "build its way out" of the chronic traffic jams produced by dispersed, highway oriented development patterns. It says combating congestion with traffic flow improvements like computerized traffic signals, other "smart" highway technology and incident management programs only addresses the symptoms of traffic, not its causes. Although reducing car dependence by promoting car-pooling with new high-occupancy vehicle lanes, and boosting transit use with new service are very expensive strategies, the plan says they should be continued. The plan appears to place most stock in reforming development patterns so that cycling, walking and transit can work together to reduce auto trips. This will require zoning changes in most towns. The plan is to be adopted by the NJTPA in September (comments will be accepted at meeting at NJ Transit headquarters, Penn Plaza East, Newark, Wednesday June 21 4-7 pm) Star Ledger
