An Era of Transportation Reform?
We have written previously about the profound changes
underway in the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s
approach to transportation planning (MTR
#477, MTR
#482).
Most Agree: Xanadu Will Create Traffic Hell
Traffic congestion is one of the complaints in the NY
Giants’ recently filed lawsuit to stop construction
of Xanadu, the proposed recreational and commercial center
in the NJ Meadowlands.
Planning to Fail in Williamsburg?
There is no evidence of any serious collaboration between
the New York City Dept. of City Planning and any transportation
agency in the city’s drive to rezone and densify
the northern Brooklyn neighborhoods of Greenpoint and
Williamsburg.
It's the Tunnel, Stupid!
First, every community interest in Lower Manhattan came
out in opposition to the idea of a West Street tunnel
opposite the World Trade Center site. Now Goldman Sachs
is so against it that it has said that it will abandon
its planned $2 billion, 40-story headquarters building
at the northwest corner of Vesey and West Streets.
New Beginnings for Greenwich Street
New York New Visions, a collaboration of architecture,
planning and design organizations convened by the Regional
Plan Association after September 11th has crafted a plan
for a new "Greenwich Street South" neighborhood,
bordered by Liberty Street and Battery Place, Broadway
and West Street.
Thruway Tolls Should Help T-Z Transit
In a letter sent last week to the NY State Thruway Authority,
the Tri-State Transportation Campaign urged the agency
to use some of the additional revenue it will reap from
this year’s planned Thruway toll increase to bolster
the operating budget for commuter buses operating between
Rockland and Westchester Counties.
CityTicket Successful, Still Temporary
CityTicket, the program that provides a discounted fare
for weekend riders who travel within New York City on
the Long Island Rail Road and Metro North (MNR) will
continue to run as a pilot program in 2005 despite increasing
ridership trends.
New Jersey's Rail Future
New Jersey Transit says the cost of constructing the
$5 billion Trans-Hudson Express Tunnel (THE Tunnel) — a
second commuter rail tunnel between New Jersey and Manhattan — is
dwarfed by the expected $10 billion it would pump into
the region’s economy.
Byram Looks for New Approach
Although the New Jersey Department of Transportation
is rapidly transforming its planning processes, there
are some residual "old way" projects still
emerging from the project pipeline and causing local
battles.
New Bike Trails for S.I. Miss Critical Path
New York City has decided to build six miles of bike
paths that run through the 2,800 acre Staten Island Greenbelt
this summer, but the network will not include the 5.5
mile Amundsen Trail along the unbuilt Willowbrook Parkway
right of way.
