New York Ponders Another Mega-Project
— Study Begins for Downtown “Airport Access” Tunnel
The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation is launching
a $5 million study of Long Island Railroad access to
lower Manhattan. The project is heavily billed as “JFK
airport access,” but the project is largely about
building a new tunnel under the East River from the LIRR
Flatbush Avenue terminal to the transit hub being planned
downtown.
Tunnel Vision: NJ's Federal Focus
In contrast to New York, since 1991, NJ Transit has successfully
built commuter rail track connections to introduce two
new “Midtown-direct” services, and tied
its entire north Jersey rail network together at the
new Secaucus Transfer station. They have also built two
new light rail lines.
Port Authority: New Approach to Goethals Bridge
In June, the Port Authority announced it would give the
NJ-Staten Island Goethals Bridge a $63 million rehabilitation.
The three-year job, which will start in April, is meant
to keep the span in a “state of good repair,” until
the agency can move ahead with a longer-term solution
for the 75-year old bridge.
No MTA Takeover for Franchise Lines:
City Slashes Bus Budget
Mayor Bloomberg’s deadline for handing the city’s
franchise bus lines to the MTA came and went last week.
Newsday said funding issues had proven impossible to
resolve, and that the city has now set Jan. 1, 2004 as
the new date for the takeover.
Greenway Design in Court
After two years of asking the
Hudson River Park Trust And NYS Dept. of Transportation
to take down dangerous, illegal stop signs directed at
cyclists and skaters along Manhattan's Hudson River Greenway
Path, Transportation Alternatives filed suit against
the NY State DOT.
CT Fares Go Up; Riders Respond
The CT Commuter Council, in response to a July 1st
Metro-North fare increase in CT, advised elected officials
to establish a dedicated funding source for mass transit
operations. Fares increased up to 15% on New Haven
Line Metro-North trains.
