Current edition: Mobilizing the Region #415, May 12, 2003
NJ Senate Committee Passes Congestion Busting Bill
Last Thursday, the NJ State Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee voted in favor of a bill (S.2093) that would help municipalities reduce traffic congestion. The measure, sponsored by Senator Shirley Turner (D-Mercer) and Senator Leonard Lance (R- Hunterdon), would re-grant local planning boards in New Jersey the power to consider off-site traffic impacts of development, a right they lost with passage of the Municipal Land Use Laws in 1975.
Fare Suit Decision Likely this Week
The Straphangers Campaign and supporters rallied in favor of their lawsuit against the recent MTA fare increase rallied prior to a hearing in court Friday afternoon. The group emphasized two messages for the MTA: open the books, and roll back the fare.
CT Lawmakers Seek to Moderate Fare Hike
The state budget proposed by Democratic lawmakers would reduce the train and bus fare increases proposed by Governor Rowland, according to the Stamford Advocate. The Democrats’ spending plan, which has been approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee, includes a measure to add $6 million to the governor’s $70 million budget for rail operations and $1.5 million to Rowland’s funding for bus transit, now at $75 million.
NY State Looks to Widen Kosciuszko Bridge
New York State DOT officials and consultants have come up with 26 options for fixing the Kosciuszko Bridge, which spans Newtown Creek along the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. The options were developed as part of the “scoping” process for the bridge project’s environmental impact statement.
The NYC DOT extended the active life of the on-line survey for its truck route study (see MTR #413), but not by enough time.
Station Access: Metro-North Spends Lion's Share on Parking
In its 2000-2004 financial plan, the MTA allocated $50 million to create more parking at Metro North train stations, hoping to attract more riders and increase access to train stations.
A theme running through the NYU Rudin Transportation Center’s bi-state symposium last week was the region’s need to reduce its dependence on trucks.
East coast politicians burnish environmental credentials with a seemingly endless parade of lawsuits against industrial and power plant air pollution from the Midwest and other regions. Meanwhile, emissions from cars, SUVs and trucks in our own states attract scant political attention by comparison.
| Each week, the Tri-State
Transportation Campaign publishes Mobilizing the Region, or MTR. MTR is a bulletin on New Jersey, New York and Connecticut
transportation news and opinion from the perspective of advocacy for
sustainable transportation.
Via fax, please write tstc@tstc.org or call 212-268-7474. |
| MTR #415 portable document format (PDF) file (requires Adobe Acrobat).
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