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RE: (erielack) Ramsey, Mahwah NIMBY
- --- "Gripp, William [NCSUS]" <WGRIPP_@_NCSUS.JNJ.COM> wrote:
> Oh they've tried. But NJ commuters have been quite resistant to all
> attempts. When Rt 287 was widened to 3 lanes between Morristown and
> Bridgewater, they made the 3rd lane HOV. There were many cheaters and I
> saw people pulled over by the state troopers daily. Still, the
> congestion in the remaining lanes was so bad and the HOV so under used
> that it has since been dropped. A similar situation existed on Rt 80 as
> well.
There were a number of problems on I-80:
1) Initially, trucks were allowed to use all the non-HOV lanes during HOV
hours. DUH!!! Watch the semis grind up the hill from Parsippany FOUR
abreast. After a few weeks, the 'NO TRUCKS IN TWO LEFT LANES' during the
HOV hours went up, and that helped a little.
2) Westbound, the last three miles didn't work because of the chronic
backup from the first traffic light north on NJ 15, which often reaches to
exit 34 or farther east. With stopped traffic in the two right lanes and
people trying to enter them from the third lane and the HOV, the HOV
should have ended near exit 37 to allow for proper mixing. It also was a
significant problem to leave the HOV lane for any exit short of NJ 15.
3) The roller-coaster profile of I-80 between I-287 and NJ 15 is well
known; there are some 6% grades in both directions. This is mostly ok for
cars, but truckers don't control their speed for a number of reasons -
principally they are trying to do 10 or more mph over the limit regardless
of how close to other vehicles they get. Pushy truckers and vastly
different speeds between the HOV and other lanes (as much as 50 mph) is
highly dangerous.
4) About 1/3 of the traffic eastbound on I-80 exits at I-287, principally
going south to Morristown. The exit usually backed up a half mile during
HOV hours; people in the HOV would aggravate the situation by keeping left
until past the US 202 exit. By that point, the right lane was stopped, so
they'd just dive out of the HOV 100 yards before the exit and bully their
way into the exit ramp. There were a number of serious sideswipes.
5) There was no control over cars entering and exiting the HOV. I've seen
HOV's in California where they were arranged similarly to here, but there
were pavement markings and signs controlling access - no walls or curbs,
but cops watching for violations of the entry/exit zones. People stay in
or out of the HOV except at these zones. Of course, it helps that the
roads are FLAT and there are few major exits (where there are, separate
ramps connect the HOV's on both roadways) so the cross traffic problem
does not occur. Elsewhere, the HOV lanes are physically separate roadways
and open for vehicles meeting the HOV criteria at all times - I-84 has a
long one east of Hartford that actually works, with separate ramps to the
HOV ONLY.
Overall, this 9 mile section of I-80 should never have been considered for
HOV. It's 'physics' don't work. Far better would be the express lanes
from the Garden State Parkway to the Turnpike and GWB. One minor problem
would be getting the trucks into the LOCAL lanes to and from the Turnpike,
which will be a battle. Typically 2/3 of the traffic between the Turnpike
and Bridge uses the express lanes although they usually run slower and are
more prone to delay. Another good nominee would be the express lanes on
I-78 between NJ 24 and Newark Airport. Or the 'car' lanes on the northern
part of the Turnpike.
> The real problem is that essentially all mass transit in Northern NJ is
> oriented to NYC. For me to get to work via mass transit, I have to
> drive 7 miles to Morristown, take the train to Hoboken, then the PATH
> to Newark, then NJT to Raritan, then somehow get the mile or so to work.
You could save some time and significant money by riding to Broad St and
taking a bus or walking to Penn Station. It is only a mile and I've
walked it a number of times. The bus only costs $1 and may honor
commutation tickets. You would have more choices on the Morristown Line
(you could use the New York trains also). This problem, though, is why I
won't try the new station at Newark Airport. I can take the Airlink bus
from Broad Street for $4 directly from the Morristown Line to the front of
the terminals, bypassing the monorail entirely. If I'm cheap, I can take
any bus from Broad St to Penn Station for $1 and then the #62 to the
airport for another $1, but it takes much more time because of the
transfer. Some year a light rail line will be built between the train
stations; with five stops it will take 8 minutes to cover that mile; the
current bus schedules are 10-12 minutes.
> Why would I put myself through that when it's a 35 min shot right down
> 287? As you said, NJ is more spread out and so there isn't enough
> critical mass going from point A to point B, except perhaps where point
> B is Newark or Jersey City to make for an efficient transit oriented
> commute on this side of the Hudson.
How many times has it taken you an hour to get from Morristown to I-80?
My wife worked in Morristown and got to know nearly every devious route
home to cope with the various accidents on I-287. When it was good, it
took 40 minutes to cover the 13 miles. Her office relocated to Morris
Plains last month, and now some of those devious routes are the main route
to the new site.
I know someone who commutes from the Gladstone Branch to Clifton via
Hoboken. He refuses to drive because of the traffic problems he has
encountered. Plus he can sleep or work on the train...
=====
Gary R. Kazin
DL&W Milepost R35.7
Rockaway, New Jersey
http://www.geocities.com/gkazin/index.html
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