The NY Metropolitan Transportation Council meeting last week featured an unusual event - action whose outcome was not pre-determined. Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef offered an amendment to the regional plan put together over the past year by NYMTC staff and member agencies. The amendment, which the other NYMTC members accepted, would upgrade the status of the restoration of passenger rail service on the West Shore Line from "potential, unfunded" to "funded system expansion" (Campaign's comments on the plan at www.tstc.org). NJ Transit is about to start an environmental impact statement for commuter service on the West Shore, the Northern Branch and NY Susquehanna and Western lines.

At the meeting, NYS DOT Commissioner Joseph Boardman announced that Richard Maitino had resigned his position as director of the DOT's New York City division, and that NYMTC staff director James Harris was returning to Albany to a new DOT position.

A report by federal transportation officials on their review of NYMTC's planning procedures was listed on the agenda, but the federal representatives declined to offer substantive comments on the issue.