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Community Outreach
Public
Information Centers and Public Hearings
A
Public Information Center and Public Hearing for the
Route 3 at the Passaic River Crossing project was held
for both the Borough of Rutherford and Township of Lyndhurst
on October 8, 2002 at St. Mary's High School in Rutherford,
and for the City of Clifton on October 10, 2002 at Clifton
City Hall. An informal, open house format was chosen
for these Centers so that the project team could offer
personalized service to property-owners and other stakeholders
seeking information about the benefits and impacts of
the proposed Route 3 improvements. More than a dozen
project team representatives were on hand to answer
questions and discuss on a one-to-one basis the concerns
raised by attendees. On display at both locations were
large study area maps detailing the proposed reconstruction
improvements, as well as aerial photographs, visual
and aural simulations of what the area will look and
sound like with added noise walls, and computerized
models demonstrating future improved traffic flow: copies
of the Environmental Assessment and Technical Environmental
Studies were available for reference.. Available at
a sign-in table near the entrance to the Information
Center were several handouts, including a 4-page project
fact sheet with a full-color fold-out map; a comment
card seeking community input on the project; and information
summarizing results of the cultural resources studies
conducted by the New Jersey Department of Transportation,
the Federal Highway Administration and the State Historic
Preservation Office.
The
formal Public Hearings were held at the same time as
the Public Information Center; each session beginning
with a description of the hearing process by NJDOT,
followed by an opportunity for the public to give testimony.
Persons wishing to give testimony were asked to sign
up to speak at the registration desk, and were called
on to speak in the order registered. Each speaker was
allowed five minutes to make a presentation, and all
oral testimony was recorded by a court stenographer
and made part of the project record. Written statements
were also accepted and made part of the public record.
Appropriate responses to the comments/concerns were
prepared and submitted to Federal Highway Administration
(FHWA) for their review and approval. A Finding of No
Significant Impact (FONSI) was issued by FHWA in June
of 2003.
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