Fight looms on state plan to allow big trucks on Route 206, 27

Task force forms to seek exemption

By: Courtney Gross
   If the state Department of Transportation has its way, both Route 206 and Route 27 could be access roads for double-trailer trucks as well as vehicles 102 inches wide.
   To Princeton officials, the addition of such vehicles not only would bring additional safety hazards, but also contradict a recent transportation study — funded by the DOT — that has been endorsed by the Princeton Township Committee, Princeton Borough Council and the Regional Planning Board of Princeton.
   In response to the new trucking regulations proposed by the state, township and borough officials are forming a task force that would request the exemption of truck traffic on the heavily traveled Princeton roadways.
   Unlike myriad other roadways known for congestion that were exempted from the New Jersey Access Network — such as parts of Route 31 — Route 206 and Route 27 were not.
   The New Jersey Access Network is a proposed series of roadways that supplements the New Jersey National Network, which includes the state’s major highways. Access network roadways, according to the proposed regulations, are state roads that should be used for trucks leaving the national network en route to terminals for dropping off or picking up loads.
   The new regulations, printed in the New Jersey Register on Monday and available for public comment for the next 60 days, resulted from a federal court ruling in February that the state’s previous regulations were unconstitutional.
   A federal appeals court found banning trucks on roads such as Route 31 or Route 206 violated the U.S. Constitution’s commerce clause and inhibited the trucking industry’s ability to effectively conduct interstate commerce.
   The proposed regulations emerged from a task force, which included members of the DOT, the State League of Municipalities and the State Police, among others.
   At last week’s Borough Council meeting, Councilwoman Wendy Benchley, also a member of the borough’s Traffic and Transportation Committee, said Princeton was one of the "prime movers" to regulate truck traffic among individual municipalities.
   But unfortunately, officials said, Princeton’s efforts were not recognized in the state’s new regulations.
   "Some two-lane highways they are protecting," Ms. Benchley said at a recent council meeting. "They’re just not protecting our two-lane highways."
   Former borough Mayor and Planning Board member Marvin Reed said the new regulations seem inconsistent with the DOT’s effort to calm traffic on Route 206 — as outlined in the Route 206 Joint Vision Plan and Traffic Calming Study.
   That study proposed a series of roundabouts throughout the Princeton section of Route 206.
   "I think that will alarm a large number of Princeton people," Mr. Reed said of the proposed regulations. "It’s impractical to expect trucking on Route 27… and it’s impractical to expect trucking on Route 206."
   Overall, Mr. Reed said the news will generate a concerted effort from various groups in Princeton to make an appeal.
   And that appeal process has started to surface.
   Township Committeeman Chad Goerner said he is working with borough officials and citizen groups to form a task force that would present their case to the DOT. The regulations not only contradict the traffic-calming study, but also raise several safety concerns, he said.
   "We’re obviously taking this very seriously," Mr. Goerner said. "We’re approaching this from a historical perspective. We’re approaching it from a technical perspective and also approaching it from pedestrian bikeway and safety aspect."
   Often a common voice against increased traffic on Route 206, the Princeton-area citizens’ group, Citizens for a Safer Route 206, has become involved in the regulation appeal.
   Mircea Savu, a township resident and member of the citizens’ group, said the group opposes the new regulations for two reasons: the safety hazards that surface from increased truck traffic on both Nassau Street and Route 206 as well as the damage that may be done to the historical infrastructure of the roadways.
   "The roads are not designed for such large combinations of trucks and double trailers," Mr. Savu said. "It’s a menace as it is."