MTR 311, Downstate Regional Meeting Spotlights Transport-Land Use Planning Initiatives

Issue 311

April 2, 2001

Downstate Regional Meeting Spotlights Transport-Land Use Planning Initiatives

The NY Metropolitan Transportation Council's annual meeting in Manhattan last Thursday had a refreshingly substantive program. The program focused on the "sustainable development" studies that NYMTC staff, the NY State DOT and Hudson Valley towns and counties have developed to resolve conflicts over road expansion proposals and seemingly intractable traffic problems (MTR #'s 267, 284 and 306). State Transportation Commissioner Joseph Boardman said the DOT's involvement in the studies was a big contribution by the agency to fulfilling Governor Pataki's "Quality Communities" smart growth agenda.

Presentations by the supervisors of Orangetown, Yorktown and Southold (Thom Kleiner, Linda Cooper and Jean Cochran) made clear that the NY suburbs are seeking a way out of the cycle of more traffic, more roads and still more traffic. The study along Route 303 in Orangetown is set to conclude this May ¾ follow-up by the town to change zoning along the route, and by DOT to develop a corresponding road plan will show whether the "sustainable development study" approach can be effective.

The attention the studies received at the NYMTC meeting and from Commissioner Boardman seems to augur well for the start-up of more such projects.