Commenting in a recent Journal-News column, a New York State Dept. of Transportation official repeated the agency’s over-tired mantra that “we don’t do land use” in reference to the major mass transit and bridge project contemplated for the Tappan Zee corridor.

     Spokespersons for Scenic Hudson and the Tri-State Transportation Campaign had discussed with columnist Laura Incalcaterra the potential for more village-like development in Rockland County in the presence of frequent transit service.  But the NYS DOT told the paper that it “did not have the authority to dictate land uses to a local community.”

   No one expects a state agency to dictate land use to municipalities, but big state outfits like the DOT, the Thruway Authority and the MTA can bring the resources to bear to allow a town or village in Rockland County, for example, to consider a variety of plans, and see what it can accomplish with a variety of zoning and infrastructure combinations.

   This is what the NJ DOT is now doing across the Garden State, taking a leadership role to plan and produce sustainable transportation solutions, rather than hanging back and defining what it does not do.

   The “Trouble Ahead” report (MTR #484) commissioned in 2004 by former state transportation chief Joseph Boardman urged a similar role for NYS DOT. “Traffic congestion is often the result of poor land use decisions….The Panel agrees that NYSDOT must assume a much stronger role in working with local communities, governments and developers on land use decisions.”

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