By Bill Beren • Chair, Transportation Committee
In July, the NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club urged the US Coast Guard not to approve the NJ Turnpike Authority’s plans to replace the Casciano Bridge across Newark Bay between Newark and Bayonne and double the number of lanes from four to eight.
The Turnpike had submitted an environmental assessment that concluded that the bridge project is a “replacement in kind” and asked the Coast Guard to issue a finding of “no significant impact” regarding the Bridge replacement. In May, the Coast Guard indicated it was inclined to approve the project, but the public comments period was extended to allow stakeholders more time to weigh in.
Our Chapter requested that the Coast Guard require a complete Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the entire Turnpike expansion, in line with the Coast Guard’s procedures, which require a full EIS for projects that are highly controversial or that will affect environmentally sensitive areas.
The Chapter’s comments particularly focused on the failure of the Turnpike Authority to consider public transit alternatives that will reduce traffic volume and the need to widen the Turnpike.
The Sierra Club was well represented at an electric school bus conference held in Baltimore the last week of July. The conference was sponsored by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and included a field trip to the Baltimore City Public Schools bus garage, where we saw a fleet of 20 electric school buses that had been delivered and were in service in the spring.
WRI is a national organization that has been funding grassroots efforts to replace diesel school buses with zero emission battery electric buses. NJ Chapter Director Anjuli Ramos-Busot and I joined Katherine Garcia, who directs our Club’s Clean Transportation for All campaign, at the conference.
