Last week, the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission approved its first master plan in thirty years, and introduced a $3 billion transportation plan that includes new, congestion-creating road projects. The agency is responsible for promoting development and environmental protection in Jersey City, Secaucus, and 12 other communities straddling the Hackensack River in Bergen and Hudson counties.

The master plan, approved last Thursday, will transform 8,400 acres of land that formerly housed toxic landfills into an ecological preserve and the largest urban park in the region. The plan, in effect for the next 25 years, also allows 24 million square feet of commercial space and 2,750 hotel rooms.

Some major development projects are already moving. The $1.4 billion Meadlowlands Xanadu entertainment complex, to be built on the site of Continental Arena, was recently approved by the NJ Sports and Exposition Authority and is now in design. A developer also hopes to build a golf course resort and 2,000 residential units.

Because such projects will bring thousands of new jobs, residents and visitors to the area, a sound transportation plan is vital to their success. But the transportation proposal unveiled last week – "Meadowlands Mobility 2030" – includes projects that will promote gridlock.

It remarks favorably on building a new highway through the Bergen Arches rail cut in Jersey City, even though the idea is strongly opposed locally and NJDOT recommended transit for the corridor.

The plan also calls for a new highway running through the eastern Meadowlands to provide access for damaging warehouse developments. They would be better located closer to the ports in Newark, Elizabeth and Bayonne.

The transportation plan also calls for valuable projects such as rail connections from the Pascack Valley and Bergen commuter lines to Giants Stadium and Xanadu, expanded Lincoln Tunnel bus lane capacity; and reactivation of the West Shore rail line. But the Commission’s apparent rush to adopt the transportation plan without adequate input threatens its effectiveness. The single public hearing, set for January 28^th, needs to be accompanied by more thorough vetting with stakeholders.

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