Linking Transport, Land Use in Hudson Valley
The first of three public workshops held as part of the Route 303 Sustainable
Development Study will take place on Saturday, May 6th in Sparkill, New
York (see calendar). A joint project by the Town of Orangetown, Rockland
County, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC), and NYS
DOT, the study will develop an overall land use and transportation plan
for the corridor between Orangetown and Clarkstown by Spring of 2001. The
workshop will explore the interaction between local land use decisions
and state-funded transportation projects with topics of discussion
including transit/West Shore Rail, open space and bicycle/pedestrian linkages,
traffic calming/safety, and retail and commercial development and freight
movement. More information about the process is available at http://www.route303.net.
On the other hand, Tappan Zee II proponent E. Virgil Conway told the
Journal News this week that the new bridge/transit environmental
impact study the I-287 Task Force has proposed to Governor Pataki will
not look at land use issues, because that is the province of local
government. Conway's comment seeks to make a virtue of Tri-State region
transportation planning's greatest deficiency, which other officials
are trying to overcome with small steps like the Route 303 project.
