A lengthy article ("The DOT is Coming -- Again, and Again, and Again...") says New Jersey has "inherited the legacy of Robert Moses" and that the "pavers are rolling into Morris County." It details disputes over the widening of Beverwyck Road in Parsipanny (at the intersection of Rte 46) and the Sussex Turnpike in Mt. Freedom and Randolph. The Beverwyck Road project would add lanes in each direction, taking a swath out of a lot featuring an historic house. No pedestrian amenities or improvements were incorporated into the project: "Who would want to cross Route 46 on foot?" a DOT engineer was cited as asking. But at least one bad vehicle-pedestrian crash has occurred there recently. Several traffic-generating projects are in the works nearby, including the doubling of a DOT park-and-ride lot, though these were not part of the road project's analysis. Proposals for fewer lanes, a system of smaller park and ride lots, pedestrian improvements and local transit service put forth by citizens were rejected by the DOT singly, not analyzed as part of a systems approach.

The DOT's desire to widen the Sussex Turnpike in Randolph from two to four lanes was challenged by Township officials who cited examples of the changed planning environment -- ISTEA, NJ Long Range Transportation Plan and the Morris County Plan -- in support of multimodal approach to corridor improvement over the usual routine of "making life easier for cars and drivers." But DOT (unsuccessfully) pressured Randolph Township Council to forego environmental/historic review, and failed to incorporate interest in bike lanes and sidewalks into its project design.

The article is most refreshing in its focus on basic principles: "It's hard to miss the worrisome common factors in these two stories... [one] is a disinclination to combine alternative designs into a creative total solution. Each alternative is measured alone, and if it doesn't solve the whole problem it's tossed out. The lack of imagination finally degrades our quality of life.

"But probably the most troublesome DOT principle is their insistence on making things easier for motorists. It doesn't occur to them that when the cars go away the problems go away. Not paving, not widening, not making traffic move faster -- these aren't its bag of tricks. Where are the proposals to reward better use of the I-80 HOV lane, to increase bus service? Why not close the Sussex Turnpike to single-occupant vehicles during rush hours?"