From Sprawling New Jersey, a New Way Forward for State DOTs

from Streetsblog New York City by Angie Schmitt
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At the time, the Garden State was rapidly approaching the limits of its developable land. And the standard practice of tackling congestion with more roads just seemed to be a fiscal impossibility, says Jack Lettiere, who led NJDOT from 2002 to 2006.
“We spent tens of millions trying to relieve congestion,” said Lettiere. “The faster we went, the slower we went. People were getting mad at us. Funds were getting low.
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At the time, NJDOT was building on a concept, pioneered by the state of Maryland, called “Context Sensitive Solutions.”
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Believe it or not, this was a major departure from the standard practice at state DOTs. Even today, many state DOTs approach road projects as challenges in maximizing vehicle throughput.
“Most [transportation] departments will tell you that land use planning is not their purview,” said Lettiere. “I think that’s the problem that has to be overcome.”
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“He said, ‘The real challenge is to get that practice accepted by people in the field.’”
“The highway guys are great about talking about highway thickness and adding five lanes to deal with congestion,” Biehler said. “But they’re not so great about talking to communities about land use.”
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https://dc.streetsblog.org/2011/08/03/from-sprawling-new-jersey-a-new-way-forward-for-state-dots/oldId.20110804024238456