Municipal Planning a Key to
Fighting Gridlock, Says Lettiere
New Jersey Transportation Commissioner Jack Lettiere
told the elected officials, business leaders, developers
and civic activists of Bergen County that the traditional
ways of attacking traffic congestion will not get the
job done.
Pataki, Bloomberg Missing from Transit Crisis
With the horrendous scale of likely MTA fare increases
and service cuts becoming clearer, the Straphangers Campaign
asked "Where are Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Pataki
and their plan to keep fares affordable and service decent?"
Warrington Unveils Extended Bergen County Rail System
NJ Transit director George Warrington presented a new
northern NJ rail plan to the Bergen transportation summit
last Tuesday. Its most interesting feature is the connection
of new light rail lines to the new cross-Hudson passenger
rail tunnel NJ Transit is planning. That would mean direct
light rail access to Manhattan. The new projects Warrington
identified were a two-branch diesel light rail system
and a spur of the electric Hudson-Bergen light rail to
the Xanadu/Giants Stadium site.
New Jersey Brings Transportation Taxes Back to the Table
As Bergen County, NJ DOT and NJ Transit discussed a variety
of expensive projects last week, funding was obviously
on most minds. State Senator Paul Sarlo has indeed proposed
a special transportation district for Bergen County — the
district would levy impact fees from developers and invest
it in infrastructure. Such a slice of local funding could
help boost projects in the district as they compete for
federal and state funding with other New Jersey needs.
Port Leaders: Rail Capacity is Top Priority
For transportation officials and port terminal operators,
one priority in meeting New Jersey’s freight crunch
is clear: expand rail capacity. As volumes at Ports Newark
and Elizabeth continue to set records, quickly moving
cargo out of these entry points has become more important
than ever.
A Super Solution?
The Stamford Advocate recently argued in favor of turning
U.S. Route 7 in southwestern Connecticut into a "Super
7" limited-access highway. This year’s elections
have indeed brought the project back into the limelight. Governor
Rell told the paper that Route 7 was her "favorite
road." The governor said she wants to ease congestion
on the road, but it is not clear she supports the Super
7 option or other alternatives to improve traffic flow.
