Money grab by truck lobby

Dave Saltzman of Princeton
    What was Commissioner Kris Kolluri thinking when the Department of Transportation recently denied Princeton’s request to exempt Routes 206 and 27 from the New Jersey Access Network? This ruling came after DOT staged a series of public hearings that made an utterly compelling case to exempt these roads.
   Apparently, these hearings were nothing but a stall tactic, a charade. If the narrow intersection of Bayard Lane and Stockton Street meets adequate “roadway geometric criteria” to allow large trucks, then every street does, and DOT’s high-falutin’ terminology is complete baloney. Once again, state government proves useless.
   DOT spokeswoman Erin Phalon cited the lack of an alternate route if large trucks are banned from Routes 206 and 27. There is an alternate route, Ms. Phalon. It is called the New Jersey Turnpike and I-287.
   This whole affair is nothing but a money grab by the trucking lobby. Their members save Turnpike tolls by cutting though Route 206 to get from one free interstate (I-78) to another (I-95/295) and put that toll money back in their pockets. That it messes up our quality of life is our problem. That we have to rebuild expensive roadbeds more often because of heavy truck volume is our problem. Somewhere, someone applied backroom pressure upon DOT, and Princeton and Lawrenceville are left with the trucks. It stinks.
   Local towns ought to rigorously enforce local traffic laws. That, apparently, even has Mr. Kolluri’s blessing.
Dave Saltzman
Montadale Drive
Princeton