Just a decade ago, New Jersey became a national model for a progressive and environmentally-friendly transportation system. State leaders seemed to understand that you can’t build your way out of congestion with wider roads, and began prioritizing investments in proven congestion busters like transit, walkability and fix-it-first. Unfortunately though, it seems that New Jersey may be slowly retreating back to a time before transportation planners had ever heard of induced demand.

Howell Township Mayor Bill Gotto, along with State Senator Robert Singer of Lakewood and New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Commissioner Jim Simpson, are mulling over the idea of opening up the shoulder on Route 9 from Aldrich Road to Interstate 195 to ease evening congestion. According to a release on Howell Township’s website, “[t]his highway is heavily congested from I-195 to Aldrich Road, and the area experiences bumper-to-bumper traffic and gridlock for several hours on a daily basis, especially between 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.”

Although opening up Route 9’s shoulder wouldn’t cost anywhere near Connecticut’s $500 million plan to widen Interstate 84, the additional capacity will do very little to ease the township’s congestion woes. While it may temporarily ease traffic congestion, drivers will soon find themselves sitting in the same traffic they did before.

But perhaps a smarter and more sustainable solution to Route 9 congestion is already at Howell’s and NJDOT’s fingertips.

Buses started using the shoulder of Route 9 along a 4.2-mile stretch in Old Bridge in 2006. Since then, NJDOT and New Jersey Transit (NJT) have been discussing expanding bus shoulder access for the entire stretch of Route 9 for roughly 30 miles between Old Bridge in Monmouth County and Lakewood in Ocean County. In 2010 NJT envisioned implementing the shoulder bus lanes in three phases, and as recently as last October, NJT was highlighting the plan at a TSTC-organized Bus Rapid Transit symposium.

Using the shoulder as an exclusive bus lane could speed bus commutes and be a boon for businesses and residents along the Route 9 corridor. However, converting an existing shoulder into just another travel lane would do nothing for expanding transportation choices or improving mobility. Prioritizing transit, along with revamping land uses to create walkable, bikeable and transit-oriented communities, are the only ways to mitigate congestion effectively. Perhaps it’s time for NJDOT to dust off its more forward-thinking plans and focus on resolving the traffic congestion of Route 9 as an entire corridor — not through unsustainable spot fixes that offer no long term relief.