Bloomberg Gets Bad Advice from
City DOT
New York City government has found another half-measure
to implement on the inevitable path to banning cars
from its centerpiece parks — Manhattan’s
Central Park and Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.
Transit Funding Measure Awaits Rell Signature
Our coverage
of the recently enacted Connecticut transportation
funding legislation (MTR #528) used as its source a
next-to-final copy of the bill considered by the legislature,
rather than a later draft that eliminated some policy
provisions we had described.
A Price on the L.I.E
Is he for or against? Nassau County
Executive and NY State gubernatorial candidate Thomas
Suozzi has been mincing words over the idea of tolls
on the Long Island Expressway ever since he unleashed
a media frenzy on the issue with an off-the-cuff remark
at a Regional Plan Association conference in May (MTR
#529). Last week, Suozzi announced he is against tolls
but wants to study “congestion mitigation pricing.”
NJ to Carpoolers: Make Way for low mileage SUVs!
New
Jersey has started a pilot program to allow single-passenger
hybrid vehicles to use NJ Turnpike carpool lanes. However,
unlike New York and California, Governor Corzine’s
plan grants this benefit to all hybrid-powered vehicles
instead of only those that achieve a minimum miles-per-gallon.
City Subway Use Soaring
Subway ridership in 2005 was
the highest it’s
been since 1953 at over 1.4 billion total rides. The
number, recently reported by NYC Transit, represents
a 1.6% increase over 2004’s total. Transit officials
attribute the increase to a strong economy and last
winter’s holiday discount program.
For Tappan Zee Transit, Option with Highest Ridership
Out of Running
Agencies conducting the Tappan Zee Bridge
replacement project recently released detailed modeling
results for a variety of potential cross-Hudson mass
transit options.
Strong Demand for NJ Transit Villages
Forty-two different
municipalities have applied to the NJ DOT/NJ Transit
transit village program in the last three years, but
only five have received the designation.
Finally, One Seat Ferry Ride on the Way for Rockland
Residents
Last week, the Port Authority accepted New York
Water Taxi as an operator for a new Haverstraw-Yonkers-Downtown
Manhattan ferry service.
Bloomberg Gets Bad Advice from City DOT
New York City government has found another half-measure
to implement on the inevitable path to banning cars
from its centerpiece parks — Manhattan’s
Central Park and Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. In
June, the city will institute a new rules that largely
limit car use of the parks’ loop drives to rush
hour peak-direction travel. Thus, no use of the Central
Park east drive above 72nd Street in the morning, and
so forth.
The mayor announced the step a day before a City
Council transportation committee hearing on Intro 276,
a bill to close the park drives to all motor traffic
for a summer trial period (MTR #528).
In the announcement, Mayor Bloomberg echoed the NYC
DOT’s long-standing but statistically-challenged
position that the park drives are “key commuting
arteries.”
“It would be better if you didn’t have
cars in parks,” the mayor admitted to the NY Times. But at the Council hearing, city transportation
Commissioner Iris Weinshall and Deputy Commissioner
Michael Primeggia claimed a park car-ban would significantly
worsen traffic congestion. When Transportation Chair
John Liu questioned why roads in parks are treated
as part of the transportation network at all, Primeggia
said that horse carriages and then cars have used the
roads throughout the parks’ history.
“It’s always been this way” and
bureaucratic turf defense are both sorry justifications
for a policy that provides a route for a miniscule
fraction of cars in Manhattan and robs many city residents
of scarce recreational space, especially in a city
that closes down major avenues routinely for reasons
as obscure as tests of parade balloons.
The DOT’s threats evoke the city traffic department’s
predictions of traffic chaos when cars were barred
from traversing Washington Square Park in the 1950s,
which turned out to be dead wrong. The City Council
should give car-free summer in the parks a shot — Intro
276 offers both a trial period and a study to measure
its success.
Transportation Alternatives is conducting a mobilizing
campaign to persuade Council Speaker Christine Quinn
to approve Intro 276 — transalt.org.
[Back to Top]
Transit Funding Measure Awaits Rell Signature
Our coverage of the recently enacted Connecticut transportation
funding legislation (MTR #528) used as its source a
next-to-final copy of the bill considered by the legislature,
rather than a later draft that eliminated some policy
provisions we had described. That later version was
ultimately approved by lawmakers and is expected to
be signed into law by Governor Rell shortly.
The enacted law removed the provision for a new “Undersecretary
of Transit and Growth” in the administration’s
Office of Policy and Budget (OPM), instead charging
the entire OPM with coordinating the work of state
transportation, environment and economic agencies.
The legislation makes some provision for the use of
certain state grants to promote transit-oriented development
and retains the priority for mass transit projects
we had described earlier. Only experience will show
whether the state and an unreformed ConnDOT will begin
to coordinate development and transportation investments
with smart growth methods that minimize future traffic
generation.
[Back to Top]
A Price on the L.I.E. ?
Is he for or against? Nassau County Executive and
NY State gubernatorial candidate Thomas Suozzi has
been mincing words over the idea of tolls on the Long
Island Expressway ever since he unleashed a media frenzy
on the issue with an off-the-cuff remark at a Regional
Plan Association conference in May (MTR #529). Last
week, Suozzi announced he is against tolls but wants
to study “congestion mitigation pricing.”
What Suozzi seems to mean is that he opposes a flat
toll for all drivers on the L.I.E., but may be for
a system that charges tolls to solo drivers using the
L.I.E.’s carpool lane — a so called “high
occupancy/toll lane (HO/T).”
The political advantage of high-occupancy/toll lanes
is that the only people who pay are those who choose
to. A highway’s general purpose lanes remain
as they are now.
A May 26 NY Times piece on Suozzi’s discussion
of these issues attributed the writer’s premise
that special toll lanes amount to “Lexus lanes” to
Tri-State Campaign director Jon Orcutt, when in fact
Orcutt told the reporter that HO/T lanes had won support
across the socioeconomic spectrum in California because
they are available to all on an as-needed basis, and
are not used only by regular, well-off drivers. The
article claimed the idea was going nowhere in this
region because of equity concerns, but it is actually
under consideration for existing HOV lanes in the Hartford
area, the Lincoln Tunnel and for a replacement Tappan
Zee Bridge.
It’s likely the idea of high occupancy/toll
lanes could go over better with Long Islanders if they
understand how it works. Both Suozzi and the press
will have to work harder to articulate the details.
Suozzi recently set up a task force that includes
the Tri-State Campaign to recommend traffic busting
initiatives for Nassau County. He deserves credit for
broaching an innovative solution to a tough problem.
Hopefully this “Traffic Working Group” will
add light to the heat the issue has already generated.
[Back to Top]
NJ to Carpoolers: Make way for low-mileage SUVs !
New Jersey has started a pilot program to allow single-passenger
hybrid vehicles to use NJ Turnpike carpool lanes. However,
unlike New York and California, Governor Corzine’s
plan grants this benefit to all hybrid-powered vehicles
instead of only those that achieve a minimum miles-per-gallon.
New York has a 40 MPG limit. California’s is
45.
In many cases, New Jersey allows vehicles with lower
average fuel efficiency than standard-engine cars to
use the HOV lane.
Fuel efficiency comparison for some hybrid and non-hybrid
vehicles:
Hybrids (allowed in NJ Turnpike HOV Lanes)
city/highway
Honda Insight Hybrid 61/66 mpg
Toyota Prius Hybrid 60/51 mpg
Honda Civic Hybrid 49/51 mpg
- - - NY/California mpg cut-off for special lanes
- - -
Honda Accord Hybrid 30/37 mpg
Ford Escape 36/31 mpg
Mazda Tribute Hybrid 33/29 mpg
Mercury Mariner Hybrid 33/29 mpg
Lexus RX400H Hybrid 33/28 mog
Toyota Highlander Hybrid 33/27 mpg
Non-Hybrids (3 passengers to use Turnpike HOV)
VW Beetle (Diesel) 37/44 mpg
VW Jetta 35/42 mpg
Toyota Corolla 30/38 mpg
Pontiac Vibe 30/36 mpg
Mini Cooper 28/36 mpg
Nissan Sentra 28/35 mpg
Mazda 3 28/35 mpg
Ford Focus Station Wagon 26/34 mpg
[Back to Top]
City Subway Use Soaring
Subway ridership in 2005 was the highest it’s
been since 1953 at over 1.4 billion total rides. The
number, recently reported by NYC Transit, represents
a 1.6% increase over 2004’s total. Transit officials
attribute the increase to a strong economy and last
winter’s holiday discount program.
Bus ridership, however, was down slightly (half of
one percent) from 2004, to 736 million. Transit attributed
the bus decline to the February 2005 fare increase,
though obviously that also affected subways. Buses
that are chronically mired in traffic is likely a factor
as well.
Over ten years, there has been a massive rebound
in subway use from New York City’s struggles
in the 1980s and early 1990s. Specific bus ridership
numbers for the same period were not available, but
NYC Transit charts indicate that demand for subways
has rebounded much faster than bus riding. It’s
worth noting that buses now account for only one third
of total transit trips in NYC. But in the 1960s and
early 1970s, bus ridership made up a much larger percentage,
at close to 40-45% of total transit use.
The numbers pose at least two questions for Transit.
First, how can it speed implementation of bus rapid
transit innovations so buses become a more attractive
option and absorb continued growth in demand for transit
service? Second, is there enough room in the subways
for the million more people NYC is expected to gain
in the coming decades? What subway improvements are
necessary for each borough to ensure that they continue
to thrive?
Annual Subway Ridership 1995-2005
| |
% change
1995-2005
|
%
change 2004-2005
|
1995
total(mill)
|
2005
total(mill)
|
|
Manhattan
|
40%
|
1.60%
|
580
|
812
|
|
Bronx
|
49%
|
2.30%
|
81
|
121
|
|
Brooklyn
|
47%
|
1.80%
|
202
|
298
|
|
Queens
|
37%
|
1.10%
|
159
|
219
|
|
Total
|
42%
|
1.60%
|
1,021
|
1,449
|
[Back to Top]
For TZ Transit, Option with Highest Ridership Out of
Running
Agencies conducting the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement
project recently released detailed modeling results for
a variety of potential cross-Hudson mass transit options.
A commuter rail link from Rockland to Manhattan via
the Tappan Zee and Hudson Line, coupled with Rockland-Westchester
bus rapid transit service would see the highest ridership
of all options. Unfortunately, that alternative has been
removed from further consideration by the Thruway, Metro-North
and NYS DOT, because, study results notwithstanding,
the agencies say that “Rockland County cannot support
duplicative transit service.”
The study team should reconsider this option, since
it will see high use in both the east-west and Manhattan-bound
travel markets.
Two options that included light rail across the entire
corridor have also been eliminated from further study
as too costly relative to their benefits.
Full corridor bus rapid transit would serve the most
east-west trips (the largest share of trips congesting
the Tappan Zee Bridge today), while full corridor commuter
rail (with a one-seat ride to both Manhattan and east-west
across Westchester and Rockland counties) would see the
highest NYC-bound transit use.
The ridership model assumed various economic and demographic
dynamisms. For example, full corridor BRT alone saw higher
east-west use than full corridor BRT with a Rockland-Manhattan
link. This is presumably because the model assumed the
rail connection would increase jobs in Manhattan and
proportionately reduce them in Westchester, and perhaps
change housing locations for some. At some point soon,
the lead agencies will have to better explain these assumptions
to the public.
The environmental review still to come will take into
consideration New Jersey’s plan for a new commuter
rail tunnel under the Hudson River into an expanded Penn
Station. The project has strong support and would improve
service along the MNRR/NJ Transit west-of-Hudson lines.
It therefore has the potential to reduce the number of
people interested in using a Rockland-Manhattan connection
via the Tappan Zee Bridge.
Locations of stations and the potential for transit-oriented
development could also affect future ridership. So far,
the lead agencies have done very little in this regard.
Next week we will report on the capital and operating
costs of the various alternatives.
Annual Ridership, TZ Transit Alternatives, 2025
| |
Total
annual
ridership, 2025
|
East-West
ridership
|
Ridership
to/from NYC
|
|
Full
corridor commuter rail (CR)
|
57,000
|
24,400
|
32,600
|
|
Full
corridor light rail (LR)*
|
28,000
|
22,800
|
5,200
|
|
Full
corridor bus rapid transit (BRT)
|
49,000
|
42,000
|
7,000
|
|
RocklandManhattan-
CR; full corridor BRT*
|
63,700
|
33,700
|
30,000
|
|
Manhattan
bound CR; full corridor light rail *
|
55,400
|
27,400
|
28,000
|
|
Manhattan
bound CR; LR in Westchester
|
54,000
|
21,400
|
32,600
|
|
Manhattan
bound CR; BRT in Westchester
|
61,700
|
30,700
|
31,000
|
(Source: Alternatives Analysis, Tappan Zee Bridge/I-287
environmental review. Asterik (*) denotes options the
agencies do not intend to study in the full EIS)
[Back to Top]
Strong Demand for NJ Transit Villages
Forty-two different municipalities have applied to the
NJ DOT/NJ Transit transit village program in the last
three years, but only five have received the designation.
16 municipalities have become transit villages since
the program’s inception in 1999.
For three years straight, Linden, East Orange, and
Trenton and have applied to be transit villages and ten
other towns and cities have applied twice. Of those that
have applied multiple times, only Jersey City has become
an official transit village.
The DOT says most applications are denied either because
the municipality’s plan is incomplete or does not
include enough additional residential development near
a transit station. The most important part of a transit
village application is a mixed use development plan with
a large residential component.
Secaucus first with affordable housing
The Township of Secaucus is one municipality that is
re-applying for transit village designation. Its application
was rejected twice before because the transit village
plans were not finalized.
Secaucus’ plan has been controversial, because
unlike other applicants, it does not hope to augment
its existing downtown. Instead, it wants to create second
one by adding a hotel, residential, and commercial properties
on top of and surrounding Secaucus Junction train station.
Currently, industrial zoning and freight facilities surround
the station.
Secaucus’ transit village hopes have also made
news for another reason: it recently changed its plan
to include affordable housing. If approved by the DOT,
it would be the first transit village approval to contain
such a component. Despite the DOT’s request that
applicants “incorporate some affordable housing
within walking distance of transit,” none now do.
At a forum sponsored last fall by the Coalition for Affordable
Housing and the Environment, then-candidate Jon Corzine
promised to require that all transit villages include
affordable housing.
Secaucus’ plan also includes a 1.5 parking space
per apartment requirement, a half-space per dwelling
lower then the average development in the Meadowlands.
To allow greater access to the station, a subsidiary
of the Meadowlands Commission will institute a car sharing
program, along with new trails and other bicycle facilities.
The NJDOT is expected to announce new transit village
designees this summer or early fall.
[Back to Top]
Finally, One Seat Ferry Ride on the Way for Rockland
Residents
Last week, the Port Authority accepted New York Water
Taxi as an operator for a new Haverstraw-Yonkers-Downtown
Manhattan ferry service. $4.2 million from the Lower
Manhattan Development Corporation and $1.2 million in
federal funds, secured by Congresswoman Nita Lowey, will
go towards the service. In Manhattan, the service will
stop at the World Financial Center, the new Battery Park
City terminal, and Pier 11-Wall Street on the Hudson
River. The news is good for Rockland County transportation
officials who have advocated the ferry link for years.
The boats will begin to run next spring and take about
45 minutes from Yonkers and 85 minutes from Haverstraw
to reach lower Manhattan. Details about fares and schedules
are still being finalized, though Rockland officials
say it will cost about $300-$500 per month to use the
service from the Haverstraw.
[Back to Top]
