PACKET EDITORIAL, Sept. 29, 2000
As a rule, we do not put much stock in conspiracy theories.
In real life, which seldom imitates the art of an Oliver Stone film or a Robert Ludlum novel, it has been our experience that the alleged perpetrators of all manner of wildly implausible conspiracies possess neither the intelligence nor the guile to hatch the kinds of devious plots of which they are suspected.
Case in point: the state Department of Transportation.
If we let our suspicions run wild (as more than a few commuters on this side of Route 1 apparently have in the last few days), we could wax eloquent on the villainous trickery of the DOT. We could construct a wonderfully wicked scenario, as the agency’s detractors have been busy doing since Tuesday morning, ascribing to the DOT an intricate and nefarious scheme to foment frustration among motorists, leading to a groundswell of support for its ultimate evil objective: construction of the Millstone Bypass.
In the absence of any evidence, other than the coincidence of timing, that there is some sinister connection between the DOT’s decision to change the cycle of morning rush-hour traffic lights along Route 1 and the imminent release of the long-awaited environmental assessment of the Millstone Bypass, we are not inclined to embrace the conspiracy theory. We find it hard to believe that DOT officials manipulated the lights with the specific intention of bringing traffic to a standstill along Harrison Street and Washington Road, knowing it would create road rage among eastbound Princetonians, who, in turn, would implore their obstructionist local officials to ease the gridlock by supporting the Millstone Bypass.
We find it equally hard to believe, however, that it evidently didn’t occur to a single DOT official that the timing of this week’s "experiment" might arouse suspicion, not only on the part of declared opponents of the Millstone Bypass but among a larger segment of the public as well. The bewilderment, resentment and defensiveness with which DOT officials responded to allegations that they had choreographed this week’s events betray at best an astonishing naiveté – or, worse, a bewildering lack of foresight.
Having witnessed on numerous occasions the ferocity of opposition to the Millstone Bypass in the Princeton area, knowing how distrustful these opponents are of the agency’s motives, recognizing that the upcoming release of the environmental assessment could represent a critical turning point in the debate over the controversial roadway, it is absolutely mind-boggling that the DOT did not anticipate the level of suspicion and anger its actions would arouse. The agency did nothing to alert the motoring public to the likelihood of longer east-west commuting times during the morning rush. It didn’t even bother to inform Princeton Borough and Princeton Township officials of the impact the change in the timing of the Route 1 signals would likely have on traffic in their communities.
This newspaper has long supported construction of the Millstone Bypass. From a regional perspective, we believe it is a vital link in the network of transportation improvements required to resolve a chronic and worsening traffic problem. But the DOT makes it difficult to retain a high level of enthusiasm for the project, especially when the department behaves more like an insular regulatory fiefdom than a responsive public agency. Far from advancing the case for the Millstone Bypass through canny conspiratorial manipulation, the DOT’s thoughtless behavior this week may actually have done its cause considerably more harm than good.