Although Passaic County is already spending hundreds of thousands
of dollars on preliminary design work for the Ringwood Avenue Bypass,
the new roadway project may have to pass federal environmental re-
view procedures before it can advance. Campaign member Rutgers Environmental
Law Clinic (RELC) has advised the North Jersey Transportation
Planning Authority that before it further pursues the construction of a new
road to double capacity on the main route to northern Passaic, federal law
(ISTEA) requires the agency to conduct a major investment study (MIS)
considering all alternatives to solving the transportation issues in transportation
corridors and to include the public in its deliberations. Ringwood
Avenue is a two-way road connecting Wanaque and rural municipalities
further north. To address peak hour congestion on the road, Passaic
County has proposed to make it a two-lane northbound road and to construct
an adjacent two-lane southbound road. The Coalition Against Alternate
Three as well as the Highlands Coalition and other NJ conservation
groups have argued with RELC for an MIS. The groups point out that new
road capacity will induce sprawl development in the Highlands. It could
also help spur bedroom community development in the Sterling Forest and
would lead to new congestion in the corridor. Alternatives analysis in the
form of an MIS could expose these impacts, as well as potential damage to
the region's watershed. Contact Coalition Against Alternate Three
(Ringwood) 201-839-6927.
Mobilizing the Region Number 44, 1 September 1995, published by
the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.