Documents published by the NY Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC), the Port Authority, and the NYC City Planning Dept. outline an overall scheme to accommodate a huge increase in truck traffic across Staten Island. The so-called "Southern Gateway" strategy would require new lanes on the Staten Island Expressway, "twinning" the Goethals Bridge and opening the Belt Parkway to truck traffic. The DOT's interest in the SIE appears to be centered on a fourth Expressway lane that would be reserved for carpools during rush hour, and dedicated to trucks during the rest of the day.

Staten Island and citywide groups think the plan is deeply misguided and want the DOT to drop work on the option now. A truck priority lane is an obvious welcome mat to a flood of additional big rigs. Plus, regional experience has shown that carpool lanes do little to ease congestion and eventually brings only more traffic. Governor Pataki cancelled State DOT plans to build carpool lanes on the Cross-Westchester Expressway in 1997 and on the Long Island Expressway in Queens in 1998 due to public protests over expected negative environmental, community and traffic impacts.

Instead of road expansion, the groups propose more transit and rail-freight services on and to and from the Island. But recent correspondence from NYSDOT has not indicated a strong impulse to launch an inter-agency effort on behalf of better transit.

"DOT and the MTA will cite a million and one excuses to avoid working together to deliver better transit service," said the Tri-State Campaign's Jessica Astrof. "But the coalition behind this letter is saying that's not good enough anymore."