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The commute sucks, but it's worth it to have a nice, quiet town with no interstate running through it. I also drive two or three times a week up to Morristown for work. That sucks as well, and I have to leave extra time to get through the Great Swamp, in case there's a work truck in front of me. Should we put a big roadway there? Of course not.
Taking a 9 hour day and turning it into 12 vs 10 or 11 from sitting in traffic backed up behind lights for 3+ cycles on narrow 2-lane country roads really impacts the overall quality of life. I would hate getting off the highway knowing I had another 40+ minutes on secondary and tertiary roads clogged with traffic and gridlock in bad intersections before I got home. Even getting stuck behind a slow driver on a back road is a major pet peeve of mine.
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Originally Posted by swilliamsny
NJ already has the highest population per square mile. It's okay if we don't make it worse by putting in even more roadways. Now, maintaining those roads is another story.
NJ's lack of infrastructure compounds the congestion problem throughout. Why do other states remain less densely populated then if their road infrastructure is much better?
EDIT: Just dug through your old posts. You live in Berkeley Heights. 78 runs through there so an interstate DOES run through your town. Not a particularly bad ride to Morristown either.
Last edited by NYtoNJtoPA; 08-18-2018 at 10:07 AM..
Most crowded state in the union (highest amount of people per sq mi) and chock full of roads that were not built to handle traffic. Traffic circles have a new incarnation now called "roundabouts" which they build obviously as a less costly alternative to adding more lanes or converting intersections to interchanges. Band-aids are never adequate solutions to these problems, just temporary. Sparsely built interstate system with construction of many roads ground to a halt because of selfish NIMBY towns, so they substitute those lengthy strip mall hell roads - commercial arteries meant to be traversed at highway speed with almost all at-grade intersections.
New Jersey is imploding, and the years of corruption and countless situations like this spawned by its ever so ignorant, small-minded, self-centered people will be its ultimate downfall.
You're right the homerule is one of the chief problems NJ. We have a patchwork of zoning laws that make for a complete mess of the state. Every town only cares about themselves and don't think about the impact it has on non-residents and surrounding towns. Prime example exhibited in this article with Sparta's current deputy mayor, Christine Quinn (with regards to a major development project in that town along an already traffic clogged highway):
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Williams returned to ask additional questions about the impact of traffic on Route 15 and other roads. Quinn said, “[Route 15] is a state highway so the state would have to deal with it. It’s the state’s problem.”
Many of the issues would be resolved if we merged zoning & planning boards, school districts, police departments and some of the smaller municipalities. But it's not going to happen.
You're right the homerule is one of the chief problems NJ. We have a patchwork of zoning laws that make for a complete mess of the state. Every town only cares about themselves and don't think about the impact it has on non-residents and surrounding towns. Prime example exhibited in this article with Sparta's current deputy mayor, Christine Quinn (with regards to a major development project in that town along an already traffic clogged highway):
Many of the issues would be resolved if we merged zoning & planning boards, school districts, police departments and some of the smaller municipalities. But it's not going to happen.
That has been discussed for years . It will not work.When you're talking about zoning laws,planning boards and school districts people are very protective of where they live.
Taking a 9 hour day and turning it into 12 vs 10 or 11 from sitting in traffic backed up behind lights for 3+ cycles on narrow 2-lane country roads really impacts the overall quality of life. I would hate getting off the highway knowing I had another 40+ minutes on secondary and tertiary roads clogged with traffic and gridlock in bad intersections before I got home. Even getting stuck behind a slow driver on a back road is a major pet peeve of mine.
NJ's lack of infrastructure compounds the congestion problem throughout. Why do other states remain less densely populated then if their road infrastructure is much better?
EDIT: Just dug through your old posts. You live in Berkeley Heights. 78 runs through there so an interstate DOES run through your town. Not a particularly bad ride to Morristown either.
You're right I-78 does kind of run through Berkeley Heights. If you look at a map, though, it actually runs along the edge of the Watchung Reservation (not residential), then cuts through a small corner where the Connell office park takes up a large portion of that part of town (not residential). It doesn't run through the way most people would visualize when you say that. If I could hear the cars from my house, I would move.
As for Morristown, I frequently sit through three traffic lights at the intersection of Ridgedale and East Hanover, then traffic is really bad again on Rte. 10. I suppose I'm at fault for giving the more generic "Morristown", rather than being specific. Most people know Morristown, though, rather than Cedar Knolls.
The point is, even with traffic as bad as it is, you won't find people in Cedar Knolls clamoring for an expansion of the roads there. I'm still trying to figure out why you'd be disgusted with people who don't want to live next to an interstate, but would rather put up with a longer commute. Unless it's because you want them to deal with noise and exhaust pollution so that you can get where you're going faster?
You're right I-78 does kind of run through Berkeley Heights. If you look at a map, though, it actually runs along the edge of the Watchung Reservation (not residential), then cuts through a small corner where the Connell office park takes up a large portion of that part of town (not residential). It doesn't run through the way most people would visualize when you say that. If I could hear the cars from my house, I would move.
Doesn't matter the town is 6 square miles and has two exits on 78, making it a pretty convenient location compared to the more remote areas. My sister lives in Clark and my uncle lives in Scotch Plains, so I am pretty familiar with the area. You aren't exactly out in the boondocks, you are in suburban Union County.
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Originally Posted by swilliamsny
As for Morristown, I frequently sit through three traffic lights at the intersection of Ridgedale and East Hanover, then traffic is really bad again on Rte. 10. I suppose I'm at fault for giving the more generic "Morristown", rather than being specific. Most people know Morristown, though, rather than Cedar Knolls.
The point is, even with traffic as bad as it is, you won't find people in Cedar Knolls clamoring for an expansion of the roads there. I'm still trying to figure out why you'd be disgusted with people who don't want to live next to an interstate, but would rather put up with a longer commute. Unless it's because you want them to deal with noise and exhaust pollution so that you can get where you're going faster?
I honestly do not know anyone from Cedar Knolls nor do I really know anything of that immediate area. I understand it is one of the more well-to-do places in North Jersey and I personally have always hated stuffiness and self-centeredness of a lot of the stereotypical New Jersey Snobs, part of the reason I moved out a few years ago. I'm disgusted with the hypocrisy of it because very often they are the same people who complain about congestion and overdevelopment.
If you want to stop overdevelopment, get involved in your local government so they stop allowing developers to build there. Sure adding more major roadways gives it more potential for that, but then tell me why a huge portion of Hunterdon County along 78 remains largely undeveloped, or similarly Burlington County along 295 around the Florence area. If you can fight against a highway being built you can also fight against too many houses being built too and it is obviously easier.
You're right the homerule is one of the chief problems NJ. We have a patchwork of zoning laws that make for a complete mess of the state. Every town only cares about themselves and don't think about the impact it has on non-residents and surrounding towns. Prime example exhibited in this article with Sparta's current deputy mayor, Christine Quinn (with regards to a major development project in that town along an already traffic clogged highway):
Many of the issues would be resolved if we merged zoning & planning boards, school districts, police departments and some of the smaller municipalities. But it's not going to happen.
Quote:
Originally Posted by G1..
That has been discussed for years . It will not work.When you're talking about zoning laws,planning boards and school districts people are very protective of where they live.
So no, it obviously will never get any better, which proves my point. The state is done for. And I won't be going down with it.
Doesn't matter the town is 6 square miles and has two exits on 78, making it a pretty convenient location compared to the more remote areas. My sister lives in Clark and my uncle lives in Scotch Plains, so I am pretty familiar with the area. You aren't exactly out in the boondocks, you are in suburban Union County.
If you want to stop overdevelopment, get involved in your local government so they stop allowing developers to build there. Sure adding more major roadways gives it more potential for that, but then tell me why a huge portion of Hunterdon County along 78 remains largely undeveloped, or similarly Burlington County along 295 around the Florence area. If you can fight against a highway being built you can also fight against too many houses being built too and it is obviously easier.
I drive to Rahway for supplies. If you're familiar with Scotch Plains, all I have to say is Bonnie Burn Road and Park Avenue. Just because an area is adjacent to an interstate doesn't mean it doesn't have traffic issues.
No, fighting housing issues isn't easier - not with the state mandated affordable housing. Berkeley Heights was directed to add 900 units to our six square miles. (Take away the Connell office park and it's more like five.) We have to allow developers to build here, it's not a choice. Thank heaven we had a good lawyer and were able to get that number drastically reduced, but it came at a cost to the town in a couple different ways. There's still a lot of argument over what impact this will have on traffic along Springfield and Plainfield Avenues.
Anyway, people move to where there are jobs, mainly, and good schools. In a lot of ways I'd be thrilled if we could live at our place in PA full-time, but as much as I love it, it is in the boondocks. It's going to be great for retirement, but not so good while we have young kids. Like parts of Western NJ, there aren't many jobs. Without jobs for people, you're not going to have many moving in.
Yes it could be just that easy but they need to think of it first before it can become an reality.
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