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These article appear in descending order (oldest stories first) so that you can follow the progression of events as they took place. Highlights of DOT Asst Commissioner Keck's statement to Highlands Council - January 20, 2005 Route 206 Project Applauded - January 21, 2005 Route 206 Plans Are Wrong for Byram and the Highlands - January 28, 2005 Counting Lanes in Byram - February 1, 2005 Statement by Scott Olson to Byram Township Council - February 7, 2005 Letter to Byram Twp. Council from Tri-State Transportation Campaign - February 22, 2005 Letter from Byram Township to NJ DOT - March 8, 2005 Concerns over the planned Route 206 expansion resurface - March 10, 2005 Route 206 widening remains on hold - March 24, 2005 Byram backing out? - March 25, 2005 An Era of Transportation Reform? - April 11, 2005 Statement by Scott Olson to Highlands Council - May 5, 2005 Wider Route 206 a go - May 11, 2005 DOT moving ahead with Route 206 expansion - May 12, 2005 NJ Herald Editorial: Widen Route 206 - May 12, 2005 Letter to the Editor: Route 206 project should fit 'Main Street' concept - May 18, 2005 Byram council decides to fight DOT plan - May 19, 2005 Area officials, DOT find no common ground on Route 206 - June 2, 2005 Letter and Resolution for 6-month Moratorium by Byram Council - May 23 and June 6, 2005 Presentation by NJDOT Assistant Commissioner for Planning and Development Mr. Dennis Keck (a licensed engineer and planner, and Brent Barnes, Assistant Director of the NJDOT Division of Planning and Research, and President of NJ Chapter of the Planning Association. NOTE: All text in "italics and quotation marks" is a verbatim transcript of Mr. Keck's remarks. Mr. Keck spoke about NJDOT taking new, "unique," and pro-active approaches, which are "very supportive" of the Highlands Coalition and the goals of the Highlands. Changes: Mr. Keck cited the goals of Smart Growth and the Highlands and gave Rt. 57 in Warren Co. as an example. The goals there are to preserve rural areas, promote towns and Centers, and safety. He described Rt. 57 as a "two-lane rural road from the early agricultural days of Warren County" and later described it as the spine of the Highlands. Their goal is to preserve this corridor. Keck: "The last thing I want to be involved in… in the future someday is widening the Rt. 57 corridor because we have more sprawl development." He emphasized the need to work with other State agencies and counties and towns to come up with a Rt. 57 corridor plan to preserve scenic vistas and "preserve that corridor as basically a two-lane rural road." This proactive NJDOT role is new but NJDOT does not have the resources to "blacktop the state" and no one wants to do that (laughter from the Highlands Council). Mr. Keck: "Point is, we need to look at how we can better integrate our land-use and our transportation…. " "Widening leads to an endless cycle, where the new capacity pushes up nearby land values." "Development occurs, congestion occurs, and you're back at it again." "And so you have this revolving circle of problems in terms of how transportation and land-use work together." So NJDOT is looking at more innovative solutions in about 20 corridors. Mr. Keck: "And we're trying to come up with other innovative solutions. How can we make the existing system work a little bit better and a little more efficiently, not having the major widening etcetera…" NJDOT is trying to support Smart Growth and is very interested in working with the Highlands Council on the Master Plan, transportation element. Questions and answers: Comments made about NJ Transit and new RR projects—NJ Transit is struggling to operate and maintain what they have—that is the priority. Need to resolve the clogging of the funnel at Newark before adding more capacity elsewhere out farther. Mr. Keck: "We can't look at projects in a vacuum but how it all works together. It's many years off before there is any expansion of lines." Morris Co. Freeholder Jack Shreier said NJ Transit Commissioner George Warrington has told them the same thing. Mr. Keck invited the Highlands Council to the meetings NJDOT is holding with counties and towns. Mr. Shreier asked how the Rt. 57 corridor plan would affect growth and how the Highlands Plan to control growth to affect NJDOT's future plans, saying the build-outs used in the Highlands Plan are based in development projections BEFORE the Highlands Act. Mr. Keck said the two must work together and that the Highlands Act is a "tremendous benefit." "I see DOT and the Highlands Council totally in sync." Land use and transportation—"I think that's really the key." The best laid plans will not work "unless we have these two elements really coordinated well." Mr. Keck then cited Route 206 in Byram as an example: "…A lot of controversy two years ago… "And the original plans were we were going to widen Rt. 206 for about a mile right there when you get off of I-80…we were going to make it five lanes wide. "OK. It's the Highlands. Well, we took a look at that and we said, you know, there's concern here. This is environmentally sensitive. Um.. The town wanted to have a plan to create, really a kind of town center. And Byram…and they recognized that the way the growth pattern has been it's just sprawl development. "And we wanted to improve regional mobility. So all's we were looking at was regional mobility. "We stopped. We said, look, we gotta look at all these factors. "We've come up with a new plan. The road now will be a three-lane cross section—it's not going to be five-lanes anymore. It basically fits within the existing paved area. We will add very little impervious surface except that we will add sidewalks ‘cause the town wants sidewalks because we want to promote pedestrian access across the road. "We actually have a structure that goes…ahh…206 goes over a stream and so forth. We're actually going to provide for pedestrian and bike access underneath the road. Um… and we are going to improve some of the intersections, improve safety, but we're going to make it so you can cross the street as well… "So what we've come up with is a solution that looks at improving some of the regional mobility, takes into consideration the town's concern to have a cohesive community, and also takes consideration (sic) of the environmental impact. "So that project now is being designed. It's being designed totally different from what we looked at two years ago. "Again, it's a success story because I think it really is talking about how can we look at all the different contextses (sic) are important to communities, important to the state, important to transportation as well. "So that's just one more example where… Um… And really my hat is off to the Township of Byram and really to Sussex County and some of the County leaders who really worked with us to help and make that happen. "Um… So that project's being designed now and that will probably be implemented probably in the next couple of years. And hopefully that will be one that we'll look at and share both transportation and benefits to the town and for the Highlands as well. "So it's just one more example of something that we've done to try and address all the various contexts." Brent Barnes then answered a question from the Highlands Council and cited "comprehensive planning" as essential and suggested that the Office of Smart Growth's I-Team should meet with the Highlands Council (Interagency Team of all the State agencies—Highlands Council's staff member Ross McDonald already sits on this). Sussex County Freeholder Glenn Vetrano then said that Byram truly is a success story and commended NJDOT for their "steadfast commitment" to keeping the discussion going. (He made no mention, however, of the fact that Mr. Keck's description of the Route 206 project was inaccurate.) ROUTE 206 PROJECT APPLAUDED CHESTER TWP. -- A state transportation official said Thursday that the approach to improvements expected to begin next year on Route 206 in Byram is what the state would like to see across the Highlands. Dennis Keck, assistant commissioner for planning and development at the state Department of Transportation, praised the planned highway expansion in testimony before the Highlands council. Keck said the plan to add a center turning lane to the highway between Acorn Street and the Byram Plaza is an example of smart growth because it will alleviate some congestion problems without requiring major expansion. In speaking of the relationship between the council and the DOT, Keck said the two agencies share smart growth as a goal. The transportation department commits only 4 percent of its budget to road expansion, Keck said, because the department believes bigger roads encourage "a vicious cycle" of further development and new road projects to accommodate them. "I think (the department's desire to resist road expansions) fits nicely into some of the key goals ... of the Highlands council," Keck said. Keck also spoke of two rail projects proposed in Sussex County — the Lackawanna Cutoff and New York Susquehanna & Western — during a discussion of rail projects statewide. Those and other area rail projects, Keck said, are unlikely to proceed in the near future because New Jersey Transit is committing its capital budget to building a new rail tunnel between Newark and New York City. Mass transportation projects cost a lot, Keck said, and the tunnel won't leave much money for new rail lines. "I think it's going to be many years off until we see expansion of lines to a great degree," Keck said. The Lackawanna Cutoff is proposed to run through southern Sussex County with stops in Andover Township and Blairstown. The NYS&W would run through eastern Sussex County. Another proposed rail project in the Highlands would bring rail service to Phillipsburg in Warren County. Keck's statements on the rail projects were prompted by a question from Highlands Councilman Ben Spinelli, the mayor of Chester Township. "Part of our job in making an intelligent plan is to know if these projects will go forward," Spinelli said. The 15-member council is tasked with creating a regional plan for the 800,000-acre New Jersey Highlands region, especially focusing on a 395,000-acre preservation area. Sussex County has 73,000 acres in the preservation area, stretching its eastern region from Vernon to Hopatcong. Sussex County Freeholder Director Glen Vetrano, who represents the county on the Highlands council, said during a break in the meeting that county officials are examining which county road projects might be affected by the preservation of the Highlands. Sussex County Planner Eric Snyder, who did not attend the meeting, named one. County officials, he said, are somewhat concerned about the proposed road extension from Sparta-Stanhope Road to either Route 183 or 206. The project, which is still in the early planning stages, could fall in the preservation area if it crosses into or ends in Byram. © Quincy Newspapers, Inc. All rights reserved. ROUTE 206 PLANS ARE WRONG FOR BYRAM AND THE HIGHLANDS "Smart growth" and "breaking the vicious cycle of development": These popular buzz-phrases have been thrown about excessively by government officials during the past few years as they define new policies to fight "sprawl" in our region. As concerned citizens, we need to look past the rhetoric and ask tougher questions of the officials who use these terms so freely. I have heard and read numerous reports of statements made by NJ DOT Assistant Commissioner Dennis Keck regarding Route 206 in Byram Township at the Highlands Council meeting in Chester on Jan. 20. I'm sure Mr. Keck spoke with sincerity when he addressed the Council, but in my opinion, his statements were not completely accurate. Perhaps at NJ DOT, as in many large organizations, the head does not always know what the hands are doing? As a member of Byram's Environmental Commission, Smart Growth Task Force and Master Plan Project Team, I am very familiar with the plans for Route 206 in my Township, and I'd like to set the record straight. First, there have been only limited "Context Sensitive Design" discussions between NJ DOT and Byram to date. Contact between the town and NJ DOT has been minimal over the past year, and the proposal recently given to the Township has grown by six feet in width for the entire length of the project since NJ DOT and Byram agreed in principle on the footprint. Second, current plans for this project show five lanes of pavement, not three, as Mr. Keck stated in his testimony. To suggest the new road fits nearly within the current footprint, as he did, is simply incorrect. A quick look at the plans hanging in the Byram Municipal Building will show just how greatly the footprint is being expanded beyond the existing roadbed. If NJ DOT sees this project as what the state would like to see across the Highlands, we are in for a very rude awakening, I fear. Everyone from Byram who has been involved in discussions of this project for the past decade agrees there are traffic problems that need to be alleviated. But the state's plan for the 1.5-mile stretch of road -- conservatively estimated at over $17 million, more likely to end up closer to $30 million according to some professionals who have reviewed the plans -- is wrong for both Byram and the Highlands. A more cost-effective solution, straightening and improving two poorly designed intersections and using modern technology to synchronize three sets of traffic signals, can solve the traffic problem at a fraction of the cost without encouraging development in nearby sensitive areas of our region. Members of Byram's governing council have been urging NJ DOT to consider this less-expensive, less-Draconian solution for years. Personally, I feel that the saved funds could be better used to address the current lack of public transportation in and around Sussex County. Our freeholders and NJ DOT/NJ Transit would be wise to invest our tax dollars developing a better transportation system within the county than promoting infrastructure and development that create a greater need for a better transportation system. Over a year ago, while concerned residents of Byram were fighting to prevent this monstrosity of a highway from slashing through our town, members of the Highlands Coalition, expressing concern that current plans were inconsistent with the goals of the Highlands region, said this in a letter to NJ DOT: "The Coalition is concerned that, in efforts to improve traffic flow through Byram and Sussex County, the NJ DOT proposed an excessive widening project unresponsive to Smart Growth mandates and a road design that ignored the Department's own Context Sensitive Design initiative. "It is extremely important to avoid the creation of an over-built, unnecessarily wide suburban highway that encourages sprawl, development, and ultimately greater congestion, within the New Jersey Highlands." Those words still hold true today. If the DOT is to err in the size and scope of this project, I'd prefer to see it done on the conservative side with a narrower, three-lane road, as Mr. Keck believes is being proposed. If history holds true, trees cut down and grass paved over is gone forever -- pavement that is "under-utilized" is never torn up. Instead, additional development follows to quickly gobble up the spare capacity of the new pavement, and the old traffic problems quickly reoccur. It's time for the NJ DOT to apply smart growth principles, taking bold moves in the Highlands region to break old, bad habits and end this vicious cycle of development. --- Scott Olson is the co-founder of North Byram Concerned Citizens (www.northbyram.org), a citizens activist group in Sussex County. He is a former member of Byram Township Environmental Commission and Smart Growth Task Force, and currently sits on the Township's Master Plan Project Team and Architectural Review Committee. COUNTING LANES IN BYRAM Will Route 206 in Byram between Acorn Street and Lackawanna Drive be expanded to three lanes or five lanes? It depends who you ask. Dennis Keck, assistant commissioner for planning and development at the state Department of Transportation, has called the highway improvement a "three-lane cross-section." Byram Councilwoman Donna Griff says the project clearly calls for five lanes of pavement. Byram Mayor Eskil "Skip" Danielson and Sussex County Administrator John Eskilson, who have both been involved in the project's planning, say it can be called either a three-lane or five-lane expansion. "It's a matter of semantics," Danielson said last week. State plans call for the mile-stretch of highway to be expanded from 40 to 62 feet. Between Acorn Street and the Lubbers Run bridge - just north of Waterloo Road - the highway will be striped for five lanes, two lanes in each direction and a center turning lane. Between the bridge and Lackawanna Drive, it will be striped for three lanes, one lane in each direction and a center turning lane. The three-lane section will be paved at the same width as the five-lane section, with stripes permitting only three driving lanes. It could be re-striped later if traffic warrants, officials said. The plans also include installing a 5-foot sidewalk with a 3-foot grass buffer on the southbound side of the highway, and the same size sidewalk and grass buffer on the northbound side of highway between Acorn Street and the Lubbers Run bridge, officials said. That will widen the construction to widths of between 70 and 78 feet. Keck described the project as a three-lane cross-section at the Jan. 20 Highlands council meeting. His statements set off some confusion and controversy in Byram, where some residents and at least one official oppose the expansion project. "Call it what it is - it's a five-lane highway," said Griff, who is opposed to the highway expansion as planned. "Whether it's three lanes or five lanes, it's the same footprint. ... It's not like they're not going to put the pavement there." Griff said Keck likely described the project as three lanes to please the preservation-minded Highlands council. "I don't want to say he outright lied, but the way he presented that project to those people ... it doesn't sound so bad," she said. "To me, that's a terrible place to misspeak." Keck said last week - a week after the Highlands council meeting - that he was referring to the area between Waterloo Road and Lackawanna Drive that will be striped for three lanes. He said he was trying to explain to the Highlands council that the state is not looking to complete major highway expansions in the Highlands and that a lot of compromise had been made on the Route 206 project. "It's not like a big widening," Keck said. "We're trying to be sensitive to the town center concept, to be sensitive that it's in the Highlands. We're trying." There is also debate over how significant of a widening the project entails. Current pavement on the highway stretch extends 40 feet, with the state owning an additional 16 feet of right-of-way on the road. Keck and Danielson said most of the expansion project will fit in that 56-foot right-of-way. "It still fits mainly in the current footprint of the roadway," Danielson said last week. "I'm saying 90-some percent." But Griff and others opposed to the project maintain otherwise. Scott Olson, the co-founder of a local citizens group, said considering the current pavement stretches 40 feet, the additional 22 feet of pavement plus the sidewalks is a major expansion. He said officials are using various figures to describe the projects in different lights. "They're dealing with apples and oranges ... and we're going to end up with a lemon," Olson said. "It's definitely not fitting in the same footprint." Negotiations between the state and Byram officials continued as recently as Friday, when state officials agreed to reduce the expansion from 64 to 62 feet, Township Manager Gregory Poff said Tuesday. State officials also agreed to change plans to remove a designated right-turn lane from the highway onto Lackawanna Drive, Debbie Hirt, the DOT's regional manager for community relations, said. Township and county officials passed resolutions approving the expansion project in October 2003 after almost two decades of discussion. The project is expected to cost $22 million and start in late 2006 or early 2007. Hirt said state officials plan to hold a public information session on the project at the Cranberry Lake firehouse within the next month and a half. © Quincy Newspapers, Inc. All rights reserved. Statement by Scott Olson to Byram Township Council Good evening. Last Friday, you should have received an opinion piece that I wrote which has appeared in a number of local papers recently. Attached also was a copy of a response I received via email from Mr. Carlos Rodrigues. Mr. Rodrigues is the former Acting Director of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Office of Smart Growth. Mr. Riley may remember him through his involvement with a November 2003 Center Planning charette here in Sussex County. Mr. Rodrigues is also a part-time lecturer on Urban Planning Design at Rutgers Cook College, and the President of the NJ Chapter of the American Planning Association. He currently works with the planning firm of Looney Ricks Kiss in Princeton, NJ. While at the Office of Smart Growth, he headed the department's "Implementation Team," assisting municipalities and counties in creating a comprehensive, well thought-out growth and preservation strategy, including transit-friendly land use within mixed-use developments. His efforts have focused on increased opportunities for pedestrian activity which reduces reliance on the automobile, reduces traffic congestion and pollution, boosts the local economy and improves the feeling of safety and security for "Centers of Place." While you have all benefitted from having seen Mr. Rodrigues letter, I'd like to read a small portion, with Mr. Rodrigues' permission, so that members of the public can be made aware of his opinion. "Dear Mr. Olson... I am disheartened to hear, from your editorial, that the New Jersey Department of Transportation is now promoting a 5-lane cross-section through Byram. This is completely antithetical to smart growth policies in general, and to any reasonable approach to redevelopment of that particular strip of Rt 206 in Byram. Five lanes of state highway will forever divide your community and doom your chances of creating a Main Street. From all the evidence I have seen, that "solution" is not warranted from a transportation standpoint, and it will foil any constructive smart growth land use strategy Byram may devise for that corridor." When someone of Mr. Rodrigues qualifications makes statements such as these, I take notice. This is NOT about moving the greatest number of cars through Byram in the least amount of time - a goal expressed by a DOT engineer during one of our summer 2003 meetings. This is about doing what is right for Byram as a community. This is about ten years, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in Smart Growth studies, Village Center planning, State Center Designation, and an entirely new Master Plan, all of which have the goal of utilizing the Route 206 corridor the "Main Street" for our long awaited Village Center. I do not deny that there are problems with this road. There are serious traffic issues that do need to be fixed. I believe, however, that a more cost-effective solution, straightening and improving two poorly designed intersections and using modern technology to synchronize three sets of traffic signals, can solve the traffic problem at a fraction of the cost. And it can do so without encouraging development in nearby sensitive areas of our region. What I do question is the appropriateness of the current plan, in light of the drastically changed circumstances of the past two years. Since the Township last addressed this road's design, the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act has been passed. Byram has revised its Master Plan. The DOT itself has adopted a new policy on road widening. Sussex County's own Transportation Study states that adding more lanes to a road does NOT solve traffic problems, it merely pushes them further into the future. Some members of this body insist that the plan has been finalized and is not negotiable. Others express, much to my dismay, that the current project is to large for Byram, but “...even if we voted to not support the project, the state would build it.” That is not an attitude I find acceptable from my elected officials either. I firmly believe that nothing is final until the first shovel hits the ground. I thank you, Mrs. Griff, for steadfastly holding to that belief as well. Novelist Basil King once wrote, "Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid." There are mighty forces already lining up for Byram. The Tri-State Transportation Campaign, Carlos Rodrigues, The Highlands Coalition as a whole, and individual member groups of the NJ Conservation Foundation, Appalachian Mountain Club, NJ Public Interest Research Group, Environmental Defense, the NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club, the NJ State Federation of Sportsman's Clubs, and dozens of township residents. They are all ready to assist us. But you, our Township Council, must act first. You must seize upon this moment and be bold. I strongly urge this Council to place for discussion, on the next available agenda, a resolution calling for the Department of Transportation to revisit the appropriateness of plans for this road, in light of the aforementioned changed circumstances. THAT is doing what is right for Byram, and THAT is what you were all elected to do. Thank you. Letter to Byram Township Council Dear Byram Township Council Member, The Tri-State Transportation Campaign has several concerns about the proposed widening of Route 206 in Byram Township. We urge the township council to forego the roadway expansion plan and ask the State to examine alternatives to this project. The Campaign is an alliance of public interest, transit advocacy, planning and environmental organizations working to reverse deepening automobile dependence and sprawl development in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. Over the long term, new highway capacity has historically led to more, not less, traffic and spurred nearby sprawl development. As the Route 206 project currently stands, the pavement widening from Acorn Street northward to Sutton Lane (including the current Cat Swamp project) could accommodate five lanes of traffic, even though portions initially will be striped for only three lanes. This is a recipe for disaster. A five lane state roadway through your small Highlands community would greatly impact your quality of life and local environment. When it comes to roads, studies have shown that "if you build it, they will come". Within a few years, the widening of Route 206 will have no impact on waits caused by congestion. The wider roadway will attract new drivers, and soon will see the same gridlock as today. The two-lane tunnel Route 206 tunnel through the Lackawanna Cut-off in Andover Borough, just a couple of miles north of the proposed widening, will further exacerbate congestion woes, as drivers in four lanes slow to merge into two. Furthermore, the addition of your Village Center, already approved in principal by the Department of Community Affairs, will significantly affect the traffic patterns on Route 206. We suggest you discuss measures needed to insure that traffic generated by this development will have necessary access to Route 206 and that congestion doesn't flood Lackawanna Drive. Lastly, we believe that this project is a dinosaur from a former era in the New Jersey Department of Transportation. Throughout New Jersey, the DOT is abandoning expensive, unsustainable fixes to congestion problems, such as the current plans for Route 206, and replacing them with less expensive, operational improvements that provide longer-term relief. In fact, these innovative projects have won NJDOT the praise of other state transportation agencies across the country. The Township should demand that the DOT embark on a similar investigation to solve Route 206's congestion problems, such as the smart-growth corridor study currently underway along Bergen County's Route 17. We believe there are more progressive and less expensive ways to ease congestion on Route 206 in Byram then simply widening the road, and we hope that the Township will work with the state DOT to create a more livable, community-oriented plan for the roadway. We would be happy to discuss this project with you further. Please feel free to contact me at 212-268-7474 or if you have any questions on concerns. Sincerely, Damien Newton Letter from Byram Township to NJ DOT Karen Minch, Project Manager March 8, 2005 RE: Route 206 – Waterloo – Lackawanna Road Improvements Dear Ms. Minch, The Township of Byram would like to thank you and Department representatives for meeting with Township officials on January 28, 2005. While those discussions have moved forward a particular conceptual plan, the Township Council remains concerned over the long term impacts of this project as proposed. In light of the Department’s own new transportation planning methodologies, Byram’s inclusion in the Highland’s preservation area, and the State’s emphasis on smart growth principles, we respectfully request that the Department, in cooperation with the Township of Byram, re-examine the goals and proposed outcomes of the above-mentioned project. The Township remains unconvinced that the proposed lane expansion will alleviate traffic congestion and improve traffic flow. For example, the Township’s newly adopted Master Plan states: “The Township’s Smart Growth planning efforts have resulted in changes in planning goals and policies for the community. The Township no longer looks at transportation as a way of spurring residential and commercial development… The Sussex County 2004 Transportation Study concluded that adding more traffic lanes to Route 206 is at best a temporary solution to the increased traffic flow on this section of the highway and accepted the conclusion of many recent transportation studies that bigger roads typically attract more development, more traffic, and more congestion… this Master Plan Circulation Element recommends that the Township Council re-examine this [Route 206] issue.” The Township recognizes and commends the Department for their efforts in assisting the Township up to this point in addressing transportation concerns along the Route 206 corridor. The Township, however, appeals to the Department to define the goal and scope of this proposed project utilizing newer, more contemporary planning models that have been successfully implemented elsewhere; leading to less costly operational improvements that provide greater long term relief. Again, thank you for your efforts in assisting Byram Township, Sussex County and the motoring public in further refining our plans to address our shared transportation concerns. We look forward to meeting with you and your staff again to achieve a plan that will satisfy the needs of all involved. Very truly yours, Gregory V. Poff cc: John Lettiere, NJDOT Commissioner Concerns over the planned Route 206 expansion resurface BYRAM -- Byram officials remain unconvinced that a proposed state plan to expand lanes on Route 206 through the center of town will alleviate congestion and improve traffic flow. In a letter to the Department of Transportation this week, the township council is requesting that DOT "re-examine(s) the goals and outcomes" of the plan to widen Route 206 from two to four lanes for 1.2 miles from Acorn Street to the vicinity of Waterloo Village near the Byram Plaza off Lackawanna Road. "There's concern about this project," said councilman Earl Riley. "This letter will create discussion." In its recently completed master plan, the township cites a 2004 transportation study that concludes adding more traffic lanes to Route 206 is at best a temporary solution to the increased traffic flow of the section of the highway. The plan goes on to accept the Sussex County report that "bigger roads typically attract more development, more traffic, and more congestion." The township wants to explore a scaled-down version of the project that realigns the intersection of Waterloo and Brookwood roads where traffic backs up. Both roads are scheduled to be widened to consist of a right-turn lane and a shared left-turn and through lanes. Work is scheduled to begin next year. "At every point of this project, we have believed the realignment must occur and that ‘smart' lights must be put in," said councilwoman Donna Griff. "There are certain points of this project we all agree upon." The township last met with DOT officials earlier this year to discuss the nearly $15 million expansion. The meeting was not open to the public. "DOT has been making it bigger and bigger as they go along; it's over-sized for the area," said Scott Olson, who worked on the township's smart growth and master plans. "Two and three lanes can work just fine at 35 mph with timed lights to move a greater flow of traffic than a four-lane road." Byram received an $80,000 smart growth grant from the Office of State Planning to revitalize its downtown, which led to the adoption of land-use principles that focus development toward the stretch of roadway on Route 206. Olson said the expanded highway would preclude any hope of fostering a more pedestrian-friendly main street through the designated center of town. "We've redone our master plan to allow for much less zoning density in our outlying areas so there's really no need for additional capacity," he said. "The more traffic you move through and the faster you move it, the less opportunity there is for traffic to stop, the more difficult it is for someone to cross the street, and the more difficult it is to pull out onto." In public, DOT officials, including Dennis Keck, assistant commissioner for planning and development, have applauded Byram's approach to the road expansion, calling it an example of smart growth and something they would like to see across the Highlands preservation lands. Byram is among six towns in the entirely preserved Highlands region in the Northwest part of the state, where legislation severely restricts building on thousands of acres of land. Copyright © 2005 Straus Newspapers. All Rights Reserved. BYRAM - Byram officials are willing to wait to hear from the Department of Transportation before reacting any further to community concerns about plans to expand lanes on Route 206 through the center of town to alleviate traffic and improve congestion flow. A member of a watchdog transportation group says the township council shouldn't hold its collective breath because the funding check may not be in the mail. Damien Newton, a coordinator for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign who addressed a meeting of the township council this week, said there's no telling what's in store for completing long-awaited highway projects still on the drawing board. Unless the Legislature approves an increase in the gasoline tax or finds other means of funding, the state may not have the money in subsequent years for the Route 206 project and others like it, officials said. The Transportation Trust Fund runs out of money after the upcoming budget, which begins July 1. For years, Byram officials have butted heads over a much-debated plan to widen Route 206 from two to four lanes for 1.2 miles from Acorn Street to the vicinity of Waterloo Village near the Byram Plaza off Lackawanna Road. "If we begin construction on the widening tomorrow, it's still going to take 2-3 years," said Byram Mayor Eskil "Skip" Danielson. Byram officials are waiting to hear back from DOT after expressing concerns about the project's ability to reduce congestion on the highway. In a letter to DOT earlier this month, the township council requested that DOT "re-examine the goals and outcomes" of the plan. "DOT has said if they were starting the study now, it wouldn't look the same," said Newton. "If DOT will admit they can do a better study, they should do it." Township officials believe transportation is no longer a way to spur residential and commercial development. In its recently completed master plan, the township cites a 2004 transportation study that concludes adding more traffic lanes to Route 206 is at best a temporary solution to the increased traffic flow of the section of the highway. The plan goes on to accept the Sussex County report that "bigger roads typically attract more development, more traffic, and more congestion." Elaine Carr, a longtime resident of the Brookwood section of the township, said widening the highway will adversely affect her lifestyle and endanger children who cross the roadway to get to and from school. "I don't want them to widen to five lanes," she said. "We'll look like Route 3. They'll be a lot more pollution and traffic." In a Tri-State Transportation Campaign study, truck traffic is predicted to exacerbate New Jersey's already difficult congestion problems, growing 80 percent by 2020. Newton said Sussex County is expected to see its truck traffic double, growing 107 percent through the same period. "Widening the lanes will bring only more truck traffic," said Byram councilwoman Donna Griff. "A lot of the truck traffic that is not coming into town is staying off of Route 206 because it's only one lane." The township wants to explore a scaled-down version of the project that realigns the intersection of Waterloo and Brookwood roads where traffic backs up. Both roads are scheduled to be widened to consist of a right-turn lane and a shared left-turn and through lanes. Work is scheduled to begin next year. The township last met with DOT officials earlier this year to discuss the nearly $15 million expansion. The meeting was not open to the public. "The more that's negotiated, the wider the road seems to get," said Newton. "This is the opposite of what we're seeing everywhere else in the state." Byram received an $80,000 smart growth grant from the Office of State Planning to revitalize its downtown, which led to the adoption of land-use principles that focus development toward the stretch of roadway on Route 206. In public, DOT officials, including Dennis Keck, assistant commissioner for planning and development, have applauded Byram's approach to the road expansion, calling it an example of smart growth and something they would like to see across the Highlands preservation lands. Byram is among six towns in the entirely preserved Highlands region in the Northwest part of the state, where legislation severely restricts building on thousands of acres of land. Copyright © 2005 Straus Newspapers. All Rights Reserved. Byram backing out? After previously agreeing to a design plan for widening Route 206 in Byram, a majority of the Township Council recently asked the state to reconsider its long-debated plan. State officials, who have worked for years to lessen bottlenecks on the stretch of Route 206 between Acorn Street and Lackawanna Drive, said the plan is unlikely to be altered significantly. Council members Lou Esposito Jr., Donna Griff, Earl Riley and James Oscovitch earlier this month asked Township Manager Gregory Poff to write to the state Department of Transportation to request a re-examination of "the goals and proposed outcomes" of the project. Mayor Eskil "Skip" Danielson, who continues to fully support the project, did not join in encouraging the letter sent March 8. Poff's letter questions the appropriateness of the plan, noting the township's location in the Highlands preservation area and citing state transportation planning methodologies that largely advise against highway expansion. The letter also questions if the project might be at odds with the state's Smart Growth principles. "Even (DOT) Commissioner (Jack) Lettiere has made the statement that widening is not the right fit," Riley said Thursday. "We all agree we need to do something about it, what we don't agree about is the width and how the DOT wants to do it." State officials will consider the Township Council's input during a public meeting scheduled on the project in May, but are not willing to re-open the design negotiation process, DOT spokesman Brendan Gill said Thursday. "Starting from square one — which is essentially what this letter is asking to do — is not going to happen," Gill said. "The project has been too far along at this point," he said. "I think the state has been very receptive." State officials have tentatively scheduled a public meeting in mid-May in Byram to detail their project and solicit community input. Gill said state officials have agreed to meet with Byram officials after that meeting, as well, if necessary. State, township and county officials have been negotiating on the design plan for almost 20 years. After rejecting the plan in 2001, the Byram Township Council passed a resolution in support of the state's plan in October 2003. The state agreed to three other changes recommended by the township since, Gill said. The plan calls for a mile-stretch of Route 206 between Acorn Street and Lackawanna Drive to be expanded from 40 to 62 feet. Between Acorn Street and the Lubbers Run bridge — just north of Waterloo Road — the highway will be striped for five lanes, two lanes in each direction and a center turning lane. Between the bridge and Lackawanna Drive, it will be striped for three lanes, one lane in each direction and a center turning lane. The three-lane section will be paved at the same width as the five-lane section, with stripes permitting only three driving lanes. It could be re-striped later if traffic warrants, officials said. Danielson and county officials who have taken part in the design negotiations are hopeful the Township Council's objections will not tie up the project's timing or funding. County officials have said the project almost lost its chance for funding when township officials rejected the project before. The project is expected to cost $22 million and start in late 2006 or early 2007. "We do feel here that this is an important regional project," County Administrator John Eskilson said. "At some point, a final decision or a consensus has to be reached so the project can move forward." Eskilson said he thought consensus had been reached with the 2003 decision. Riley said worries about losing the funding are less important than making sure it is a good project. "Just because the money has been invested, why continue?" he said, referring to the cost of designing the project. Many of the questions raised by the Township Council have already been answered, Danielson said. "I think the state has got to go forward with a reasonable approach to the situation," he said Thursday. "They've worked very hard with us over two years to come to a solution." © Quincy Newspapers, Inc. All rights reserved. Mobilizing The Region We have written previously about the profound changes underway in the New Jersey Department of Transportation's approach to transportation planning (MTR # 477 ). In brief, the Deptartment is revolutionizing its response to traffic congestion by beginning to work with municipalities on siting future development in transportation-efficient locations and recommending subtle strategies like the reconnection of older street grids to move traffic more efficiently than the hierarchical "traffic sewer" approach favored by engineers in the second half of the 20th Century. This development is an extremely hopeful one for transportation planning and the future of smart growth strategies in the United States. Perhaps even more positive is the attention NJ's example is already getting around the country, at least here in the northeast where states face tight budgets and old methods have not improved transportation. A conference convened in March by the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Department of Transportations explicitly to explore and promote new transportation planning methods saw attendance by nearly every northeastern state DOT (and a few of their Canadian provincial counterparts). Commissioners of the New Hampshire and Delaware DOT's joined NJ and PA transportation chiefs Jack Lettiere and Allen Biehler, while Massachusetts sent an official from Governor Romney's office. New York State DOT sent a delegation of five or six from its Albany headquarters. The content of presentations was remarkable by state DOT standards -- presentations pointed out the unsustainable nature of road expansion, the relationship of highways and sprawl development and the fact that street grids contain more traffic capacity than hierarchical road systems with equal numbers of lane miles. Principles like these were espoused in comments by Lettiere, Biehler, New Hampshire commissioner Carol Murray and FHWA Administrator Mary Peters. No one at the session was publicly against this direction, though there likely are some misgivings within the DOTs, which have been bastions of traditional traffic engineering and paving approaches. It also seemed clear that some state agencies have more political room than others to expand their strategic repertoires, with New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and perhaps Delaware leading the way. New Jersey Department of Transportation is reportedly preparing a formal announcement of its new planning strategies, to be accompanied by an explanatory web-site. ==== Byram Looks for New Approach Although the New Jersey Department of Transportation is rapidly transforming its planning processes, there are some residual "old way" projects still emerging from the project pipeline and causing local battles. Byram Township, a small municipality in the southern part of Sussex County, is trying to blunt one such project by asking DOT to bring its new approach to an old widening project. NJ DOT's plan to for a roughly one-mile stretch of Route 206 would widen the road from two lanes to five through the center of Byram (see MTR #'s 374 and 382 ). The township has asked DOT to scrap the expensive project, and give Byram a more innovative, pedestrian-friendly plan that connects local land uses and reconnects its street grid. DOT is not sure the town is ready for a complete planning overhaul, but should give it a chance before proceeding with the new lanes. Statement by Scott Olson to Highlands Council Good afternoon Council Members. First, I want to thank you for taking these meetings “on the road,” and creating an open atmosphere for discussion. This is how government is supposed to work – with the participation of the public. My name is Scott Olson, and I am a resident of Byram Township. I am a past member of Byram’s Smart Growth Task Force, Environmental Commission, and Master Plan Project Team, as well as the co-founder of a local activist group, North Byram Concerned Citizens. I come before you today in that activist capacity, to express my concerns over a DOT project for Route 206. If completed as proposed, this project will widen the current two-lane portion of the highway to five-lanes of pavement through Byram’s Designated Village Center. I’ve prepared a written statement and background information packet for you, which contains an opinion piece that I wrote in January and was presented to you at your February 17th meeting. Also attached is a copy of a response to it that I received via email from Mr. Carlos Rodrigues, former Acting Director of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Office of Smart Growth, who is now employed in the private sector. I know that Mr. Zellner is aware of Mr. Rodrigues’ qualifications, and his involvement with Byram Township as we went through the Center Designation process. For members of the public, I can summarize: Mr. Rodrigues’ focus was to assist municipalities and counties in creating comprehensive, well thought-out growth and preservation strategies, including transit-friendly land use within mixed-use developments. He has stressed increased opportunities for pedestrian activity, which reduces reliance on the automobile, reduces traffic congestion and pollution, boosts the local economy and improves the feeling of safety and security for "Centers of Place." Our goal is to make Byram’s Village Center a true “Center of Place” for the Highlands, and that is what makes his response so alarming. With Mr. Rodrigues' permission, I would like to read a brief excerpt from the letter. "Dear Mr. Olson... I am disheartened to hear, from your editorial, that the New Jersey Department of Transportation is now promoting a 5-lane cross-section through Byram. This is completely antithetical to smart growth policies in general, and to any reasonable approach to redevelopment of that particular strip of Route 206 in Byram. Five lanes of state highway will forever divide your community and doom your chances of creating a Main Street. From all the evidence I have seen, that "solution" is not warranted from a transportation standpoint, and it will foil any constructive smart growth land use strategy Byram may devise for that corridor." When someone of Mr. Rodrigues background makes a statement like this, I take notice. This project should not be about moving the greatest number of cars through Byram in the least amount of time - a goal expressed by a DOT engineer during one of our summer 2003 meetings. This project should be about doing what is right for Byram as a community, and the Highlands as a region. Byram has spent ten years, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in Smart Growth studies, Village Center planning, State Center Designation, and an entirely new Master Plan, all of which have the goal of utilizing the Route 206 corridor as the "Main Street" for our long awaited Village Center. In an effort to minimize development in the Preservation Area of our town, we have downzoned outlying areas and increased the allowable density for this corridor, in hopes of creating a walkable, human-scaled, and vibrant business district. We believe, in the words of our friends at the Highlands Coalition, that this plan has the potential to create “an over-built, unnecessarily wide suburban highway that encourages sprawl, development, and ultimately greater congestion, within the New Jersey Highlands.” No one denies that there are problems with this road. There are serious traffic issues that do need to be fixed. A majority of our Town Council, our Planning Board, and our Environmental Commission all believe less disruptive and more cost-effective solutions exist. By utilizing DOT’s touted “Smart Growth Toolbox” and its new NJ FIT program, which my friend Tina Bologna will address, DOT can solve these traffic problems at a fraction of the cost, without encouraging development in nearby sensitive areas. At your Passaic County meeting in April, you chose to involve yourselves in the issue of Eagle Ridge’s water allocation permit. I would like to request that the Council, in a similar manner, involve itself in the plans for Route 206, to help us achieve a workable solution for the Highlands. I would like to request a resolution from this Council asking the DOT to afford your staff, or the Council’s Interagency Subcommittee, an opportunity to review the appropriateness of this project. Additionally, I would like to invite any staff or Council members to better familiarize themselves with this issue by attending the DOT’s Open House on the project, being held Tuesday May 10th at the Byram Lakes School. I have attached a copy of an ad for the event to the back page of my packet. Thank you again for bringing these meetings out to the public, and for your consideration of this matter. Wednesday, May 11, 2005 By LYNN OLANOFF Herald Staff Writer STANHOPE — State transportation officials told opponents of the Route 206 expansion in Byram at a local meeting Tuesday at Byram Lakes Elementary School, that the project is expected to go forward without major changes. The $26.5 million project's opponents include the Byram Township Council, which has asked the state to revisit its plans to widen the highway from 40 to 62 feet and reiterated that request at Tuesday's meeting. About 150 people attended the public meeting at which state officials detailed their plans to widen a mile-stretch of Route 206 between Acorn Street and Lackawanna Drive. A slight majority of the about 40 people who spoke at the meeting raised questions or concerns about the project. Councilman Lou Esposito Jr. asked state officials Tuesday to first fix intersections and traffic signals at Lackawanna Drive and Waterloo and Brookwood roads before considering expanding the highway to five lanes. "Let's do the intersection improvements now, and if it works, we're done," Esposito said. Denice daCunha, a state consulting engineer on the project, said a phased project is not very likely. "If we did the first phase, we may not have the funding for the second phase. We may not be back for 20 years," she said. County Administrator John Eskilson addressed the crowd to say the long-debated project should progress. At what point, he asked, does the state consider consensus to have been reached on a design? "We just can't continue to debate this subject," Eskilson said. State, county and township officials agreed on plans for the highway expansion in the fall of 2003, but four of Byram's five elected municipal officials have since questioned the plans. Mayor Eskil "Skip" Danielson still supports the project. Karen Minch, the state's project manager on the highway expansion plan, said the state has yet to endorse a final plan on the roadway, so "minor" aspects can still change. The state has agreed to again meet with Byram officials about the project. Debbie Hirt, the state Department of Transportation's regional manager for community relations, said Tuesday's meeting and future meetings about the project will "fine tune" the plan, such as adjusting entrances for roadside businesses and coordinating traffic signals. "The project's on schedule as it stands right now," Minch said. Work on the $26.5 million project is expected to start in January 2007 and be completed in August 2009. The project is expected to cost $18.5 million for construction, $4 million for design and another $4 million for acquiring rights-of-way along the mile-long stretch. Most of the proposed project fits into the state's 80-foot right-of-way in the region. Current pavement on the road section stretches 40 feet. Between Acorn Street and the Lubbers Run bridge — just north of Waterloo Road — the highway will be striped for five lanes, two lanes in each direction and a center turning lane. Between the bridge and Lackawanna Drive, it will be striped for three lanes, one lane in each direction and a center turning lane. The three-lane section will be paved at the same width as the five-lane section, with stripes permitting only three driving lanes. It could be re-striped six months later if traffic warrants, officials said. The project also calls for realigning the intersections at Lackawanna Drive and Waterloo and Brookwood roads. Lorie Miller, chairwoman of Byram's environmental commission, said the group does not support the state's plan, in part for its suspected adverse effects on Lubbers Run, an environmentally-sensitive stream that runs by the highway. "It's time to revisit these plans," Miller said. Terri Kepler, a Waterloo Road resident, said she was concerned about the proposed widening of her road in conjunction with the project. "You're going to allow people to speed up in an area that's very residential," Kepler said. "My daughters walk down to the bus stop every day." Denise Weaver, the owner of the Fresh Farms fruit stand, said she was concerned about the impact on her business, which is located very close to the road. "I'm concerned for all people along the highway," Weaver said. State officials said they would look over the plans with her after the public session to see how they affect her business. A number of township residents also spoke out in favor of the highway expansion. Ted Kenny and Mary Saarmann pointed to the often backed up traffic on the road stretch and asked expansion opponents what they would do to fix the problem. "This may not be the ideal solution ... but something needs to be done," Saarmann said. "It is a parking lot." Dennis McConnell, a Byram attorney who also serves as counsel to the Sussex County government, said business at his Waterloo Road office suffers because of the highway congestion. "I have people who won't come to my office ... because they won't get there," McConnell said. "If this plan doesn't go through, we won't see another one for 20 years." ©2005 The New Jersey Herald DOT moving ahead with Route 206 expansion By Joseph Harkins BYRAM-State transportation officials say the planned expansion of Route 206 will ease traffic congestion through the center of Byram. But not everyone is convinced. About 150 people attended a public meeting in Byram this week to listen to state representatives explain the much-debated plan to widen the highway from two to four lanes for 1.2 miles, from Acorn Street to the Byram Plaza off Lackawanna Road. Some Byram officials doubt the $26.5 million expansion will reduce congestion. The township council had asked the department of transportation to "re-examine the goals and outcomes" of the plan. "A lot of the people are for it and a lot of the people are against it, but there's a lot of compromise in this plan," said Denice daCunha, a state consulting engineer. For example, she said, the state added center turn lanes and 35-mph speed zones to accommodate the public. "This plan was preserved with some slight changes to some basic shapes, but it's the same footprints," she said. "It's solving a lot of existing sub-standard features." But according to a 2004 transportation study in the township's recently completed master plan, adding more traffic lanes is at best a temporary solution to the increased traffic flow of this section of the highway. The plan goes on to accept the Sussex County report that "bigger roads typically attract more development, more traffic, and more congestion." "DOT is building a mass-transit design for a small-scale community," said Scott Olson, co-founder of North Byram Concerned Citizens, a community group that opposes the planned widening. "They are trying to make Byram a drive-through town and we want to make it a place where people want to stop and visit -- a place to come to, not go through." The township wanted to explore a scaled-down version of the project that would realign the intersection of Waterloo and Brookwood roads, where traffic usually backs up. Both roads are scheduled to be widened, and will include a right-turn lane and shared left-turn and through lanes. Karen Minch, a state project manager, said the transportation department has yet to give a final approval to the plan and will meet with Byram officials again to iron out minor details. Work is scheduled to begin next year, pending final approval. Byram Mayor Eskil "Skip" Danielson supports the expansion. He said the hearing was a chance for the public to ask questions and give suggestions. Sussex County Freeholder Susan Zellman, a resident of nearby Stanhope, said improvements to the current roadway are much needed and long awaited by local commuters, who are often forced to sit in traffic. "I'm happy that we have a plan that is safe and will move people," she said. Byram received an $80,000 smart growth grant from the Office of State Planning to revitalize its downtown. This led to the adoption of land-use principles that focus development toward the stretch of roadway on Route 206. Tammie Horsfield, president of the Sussex County Chamber of Commerce, said the Route 206 expansion is good for area businesses. "Byram is the gateway to our county," she said. "Route 206 just doesn't work the way it is. This plan is not just good for business, but it's also good for the quality of life of our residents." Copyright © 2005 Straus Newspapers NJ Herald Editorial: Widen Route 206 Thursday, May 12, 2005 There are always going to be some people who don't want to see Sussex County grow. But in the case of Route 206 in Byram, the county outgrew the road a long time ago. With due respect to opponents of the state's highway expansion plans, something must be done to ease the flow of traffic through the Route 206 Byram corridor. We have supported the project, at least in concept, since Day One. Widening the busy highway should make it less congested (and therefore better for the environment) and more efficient. More than 20 of the 150 people in attendance Tuesday at a public meeting with the state Department of Transportation raised objections, concerns or questions about the state's $26.5 million plan to widen the congested mile of Route 206 between Lackawanna Drive and Acorn Street. Four-fifths of the Byram Township Council is against the project, even though the council approved it in 2003. The DOT has held many of these meetings, heard the public, and even made concessions and amended the project to address some concerns. But this project needs to happen. It has been in the works for more than two years; the need has been apparent for 25 years. And the commuter traffic at rush hours just gets worse. Mary Saarmann was one of about 20 people who spoke in favor of the project. "This may not be the ideal solution ... but something needs to be done. It is a parking lot," she said. Tuesday's Byram mayoral election results may actually be an indication of public support, since Eskil "Skip" Danielson, who is for the project, defeated write-in candidate Scott Olson, who is adamantly against the project, by a more than 3-to-1 margin. The project calls for the highway to be widened from 40 to 62 feet. Between Acorn Street and Lubbers Run bridge, it will be lined for five lanes; from the bridge to Lackawanna Drive, it will be lined for three lanes, with the possibility of being relined for five lanes in the future if traffic warrants it. The project also calls for realigning intersections at Lackawanna Drive, Waterloo Road and Brookwood Road for better efficiency exiting and entering the highway. The plan makes a lot of sense. Of course, the state has a responsibility to make right-of-way acquisitions and construction as painless as possible for the many businesses and offices along the stretch. Business owners can and should continue to bring their concerns to the DOT so that positive solutions can be found to curtail fears that business will be affected during construction. The whole point of this project is to move commuters through the area more efficiently and, at the same time, provide easy access in and out of businesses for shoppers. This concept, it seems, should go hand-in-hand with Byram's town center plans. Route 206 in Byram is the gateway to Interstate 80, making the area a "pass-through" for commuters. In that sense, the highway serves all county residents, not just the people of Byram. This road expansion is the best thing for a growing county. State officials said they are still willing to fine-tune the plan. But the bottom line is, it must proceed. The waiting and debating have gone on long enough. Wednesday, May 18, 2005 Editor: Regarding your editorial of May 12, "Widen Route 206," I take exception to some of your statements, which I personally find misleading. First, the DOT has not held any meetings like the one on May 10. As a matter of fact, this is the first meeting where the public has been allowed input on the plan and design of the roadway since I began aggressively involving myself in this project in the fall of 2002. Sadly, the most important details of the plan appear to have been set in stone well before being brought out for comment. Second, while the project calls for improvements to the Lackawanna Drive and Waterloo/Brookwood intersections, the traffic flow from Byram's local neighborhoods onto these roads will be improved only minimally, with flow off Lackawanna onto Route 206 being just barely above the DOT's grade for failing. Finally, your paper has continually described me as being "adamantly against the project" - nothing could be further from the truth, and I would hope your paper would have seen that by now. Over and over again, I have called for the NJ DOT to employ its "Smart Growth Toolbox" and highly touted NJ FITS (First In Transportation) program to help Byram create a vibrant, walkable and human-scaled business district, with a road that still solves the needs of the motoring public. In fact, North Byram Concerned Citizens, in an ad we ran in local papers, stated plainly that "We do not seek to scrap this project, we are simply asking NJDOT to reopen discussions on roadway footprint and design." No offense to residents of Hampton and Newton, but the current plans for Route 206 in Byram mirror the current roadway connecting those municipalities. That's hardly the "Main Street" look and feel that Byram's elected officials and citizens have envisioned and worked hard toward for over a decade. Contrary to the thinking in your editorial, our plans are for making Byram the gateway to Sussex County and the New Jersey Highlands, and for Byram to become a place to "come to, and not just pass through." Scott Olson | |||||||||