In an exchange with O'Donovan, State DOT's Alex Dudley said the agency plans to widen the Staten Island Expressway with new carpool lanes along its entire length. Yet the agency has also determined that any major work in the Expressway corridor will undergo a $1 million "major investment study" to examine a full range of transportation options and their economic, environmental and other impacts. The study would provide opportunity for public input and, ostensibly, objective weighing of possible transportation improvements, including public transit. When challenged on this point by a Tri-State Transportation Campaign staff member, Dudley immediately back-pedaled and assured citizens "of course we'll be studying all sorts of alternatives."

But obviously, DOT has made up its mind about the S.I. Expressway in advance of its own study. Is the latter then just window-dressing to give the public the illusion of input, and the law the appearance of mandated reviews? Unfortunately for the people of New York, the answer is yes on both counts when it comes to large State DOT projects.

State Senator Frank Padavan recently recounted the instance of DOT scheduling a public hearing to solicit input on three alternatives for its Long Island Expressway project, when in fact the agency had signed an agreement months earlier with Nassau County officials to pursue one of the options.

While Brooklyn's Gowanus Expressway project was undergoing alternatives review last year, work began on rehabilitation of the Prospect Expressway, the highway spur that links Ocean Parkway to the Gowanus. The contract signed by the NY State DOT provides for expanded ramp links to the renovated Gowanus Expressway. The Prospect work clearly anticipates the DOT's preferred solution and design for the Gowanus, despite the absence of an approved Environmental Assessment.