The report itself raises no red flags - the Sheridan's removal would have little impact because it carries a mere 37,000 vehicles/day compared to 172,000 on the most crowded segment of the Cross Bronx Expressway and 129,000 on the Bruckner. Several streets in the Bronx, including Fordham Road, carry more traffic. In fact, given the quantity of traffic the highway handles, the New York Post ran a story this week referring to rebuilding Sheridan interchanges as a "Boondoggle." A Post photographer caught staff of the Tri-State Campaign, NYC Environmental Justice Alliance and several community groups sitting on the Sheridan during rush hour to show how few vehicles use it.

However, instead of agreeing that the Sheridan-to-park idea merits inclusion in its upcoming EIS, the State DOT chose to obfuscate the issue in several newspaper and television articles. In a Good Day NY story last Tuesday, agency officials said that the proposal to replace two of the highway's three interchanges would cost only one-tenth that published in its own reports.

Then, in a Friday Daily News article, the State DOT accused the Campaign of misinterpreting the data stating that traffic will increase on other roadways and hence pollution will not remain the same. Yet the report entitled "Investigation of Demapping the Sheridan Expressway," does not look at traffic on other highways. In fact, in a meeting last spring, agency officials told community groups and elected officials that a different model would be needed to determine the effects on neighboring roadways.