Suozzi-Spitzer Debate
The recent debate between the Democratic candidates for governor of New York State touched on several transportation issues
.
Hearings this Fall on Turnpike Widening
Officials from the NJ Turnpike Authority announced at a recent meeting of the Central Jersey Transportation Forum that the draft environmental impact statement for the proposed widening of turnpike was nearly complete.
Brooklyn Neighborhoods Say City Has Failed Traffic Challenge
Leaders of over two dozen major Brooklyn civic associations wrote to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg last week to spotlight what they called a general failure of transportation planning in the city.
Newark's New Line
New Jersey Transit opened its newest light rail line last week, connecting Newark’s Penn and Broad Street Stations via the Performing Arts Center, Riverfront Stadium, Newark Museum and the Broad Street commercial corridor.
Study Suggests Sheridan Elimination Feasible
On June 29, the NY State Dept. of Transportation released the results of computer traffic models it had developed for four alternatives for its Bruckner/Sheridan Interchange project. The findings were presented to back-to-back packed public meetings in the South Bronx.
Updating CT's Transportation Strategy
Connecticut ’s Transportation Strategy Board is holding public hearings around the state anticipating a scheduled update of the state’s strategy in January.
NJTPA Rejects Widening of I-78
The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority will hold public meetings (see calendar for more information) to gather public input on ways to improve congestion on I-78 between Lehigh County, Pennsylvania and Somerset County without resorting to widening the highway.
Ex-City Bike Planner Points Finger
Recently-resigned NYC bicycle planner Andrew Vesselinovitch told the NY Sun this week that city transportation commissioner Iris Weinshall shot down about half of the proposals advanced by the NYC DOT cycling office since Mayor Bloomberg was first elected.
The Suozzi-Spitzer Debate
The recent debate between the Democratic candidates for governor of New York State touched on several transportation issues:
Thomas Suozzi took on Elliot Spitzer’s announced transportation plan, which holds up the Second Avenue subway, LIRR-Grand Central connection and new Tappan Zee Bridge as its top project priorities (see MTR #529). Suozzi charged that Spitzer’s plan constituted a pledge to “spend over $20 billion on new transportation projects” without identifying where the money would come from.
That is true—more money than state government and public authorities responsible for transportation have in hand will be needed to build all of the projects. But it is also normal for funding packages for such large scale undertakings to be assembled over time, as the project progresses. Spitzer said the projects were funded through 2009, although the bulk of construction spending for all three big projects will happen after that. He has indicated in the past that he would seek a Port Authority contribution toward transit expansion projects in New York in return for a major PA contribution to the Secaucus-Manhattan commuter rail tunnel project championed by New Jersey.
Spitzer countered that Suozzi had no transportation plan, and twice took swipes at Suozzi’s remarks from last spring about charging for driving on the Long Island Expressway (MTR #530).
Spitzer was asked which was a higher priority among construction of the Second Avenue subway or the LIRR-Grand Central connection. Both Spitzer and Suozzi said the projects were of equal merit. Both also said that New York City should not be granted control of the city mass transit system.
A moderator also asked Spitzer if he would try to
remove Peter Kalikow as MTA chair if Kalikow did not resign upon the change of state administrations. Spitzer answered, “Absolutely.” Suozzi said he would not try to force Kalikow out.
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Hearings this Fall on Turnpike Widening
Officials from the NJ Turnpike Authority announced at a recent meeting of the Central Jersey Transportation Forum that the draft environmental impact statement for the proposed widening of turnpike was nearly complete. The impact statement will be reviewed by the state Dept. of Environmental Protection. The Turnpike Authority will hold hearings on it this fall.
Much of the document has been prepared in private, but environmentalists are already concerned with two known study details. The first is the expanding size of the project. Turnpike Authority officials confirmed the existence of plans to extend the widening from exit 6 to exit 9. Previous plans only extended the widening northward to exit 8a.
The second is that the study
will not examine land use impacts in areas surrounding the interchanges in the widened area. While the New Jersey Department of Transportation recognizes that roadway capacity expansion can attract new traffic, the Turnpike Authority assumes that a wider turnpike will remove traffic from local roads without studying the actual impacts of the increase on development and housing choice by commuters. The Campaign intends to raise this issue with members of the Turnpike’s board, including NJ transportation commissioner Kris Kolluri.
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Brooklyn Neighborhoods Say City Has Failed Traffic Challenge
Leaders of over two dozen major Brooklyn civic associations wrote to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg last week to spotlight what they called a general failure of transportation planning in the city.
The groups pointed to booming development, worsening congestion and quality of life problems in neighborhoods as pressing reasons for city government to get more serious and innovative about transportation problems and possible solutions.
The letter said that the absence of a clear policy was preventing progress on mass transit and pedestrian safety improvements, and causing transportation to fall out of major planning initiatives like the rezoning of Downtown Brooklyn and Williamsburg/Greenpoint. It points to potentially promising initiatives that “have drifted along as studies, failing to deliver any public benefit,” including city studies of traffic calming, bus rapid transit and truck route enforcement.
They contrasted the situation in New York to cities like San Francisco, which approaches transportation projects and major development decisions from an official “transit first” point of view.
They also noted that Mayor Bloomberg had directed city agencies to develop a transportation plan for Staten Islandbut not any other borough.
The groups urged Mayor Bloomberg to adopt a new policy framework and priorities, including:
Bettering neighborhoods by prioritizing traffic calming over traffic flow.
A comprehensive look at Brooklyn’s mass transit needs, with project recommendations for the next MTA 5-year rebuilding program (2009-2014). The groups noted that while the MTA is not a city agency, the mayor can wield significant influence over it if he wants to.
Requiring the construction of fewer parking spaces in parts of Brooklyn slated for dense development, like downtown and the Atlantic Yards area.
Residential parking permits for areas heavily impacted by demand for commuter and entertainment parking
Faster implementation of rapid bus routes.
The groups requested a reply from the mayor’s office. The groups’ frustration with business as usual is reflected in a concluding statement that “they do not want another letter from the transportation commissioner about why nothing can be done.”
The organizations signing the letter were described by the Brooklyn Paper as a “veritable United Nations of groups.” They include the Bay Ridge Community Council, the Gowanus Community Stakeholder Group, the Polish Slavic Center Community Services, South Midwood Residents’ Association, United Jewish Organization of Williamsburg, United Puerto Rican Organization of Sunset Park and the Vinegar Hill Neighborhood Association
“ New York City has no transportation policy or goals. That’s no recipe for coping with changing traffic and transit conditions or improving New Yorkers’ commutes and neighborhoods,” said Jon Orcutt of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, which helped the civic groups organize the effort.
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Newark's New Line
New Jersey Transit opened its newest light rail line last week, connecting Newark’s Penn and Broad Street Stations via the Performing Arts Center, Riverfront Stadium, Newark Museum and the Broad Street commercial corridor.
The ribbon cutting followed speeches by Governor Corzine, Mayor Booker, Senators Menendez and Lautenberg, local politicians and officials from NJ Transit and NJDOT. Their remarks focused not just on expanding mass transit, but on the line’s hoped-for role in Newark’s redevelopment. Long term plans could take the line all the way to Elizabeth.
Ridership estimates for the line’s first year are modest. Transit expects the line to carry 4,000 people per day in a year, but within just three years it expects ridership to grow to 7,000 riders per day.
Customers can transfer from the Newark City Subway to the light rail in Penn Station at no extra cost. Construction cost of the project was $207 million in state and federal transportation funds.
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Study Suggests Sheridan Elimination Feasible
On June 29, the NY State Dept. of Transportation released the results of computer traffic models it had developed for four alternatives for its Bruckner/Sheridan Interchange project. The findings were presented to back-to-back packed public meetings in the South Bronx.
The results appear to show fairly small differences among the alternatives when viewed across both the entire study area, which roughly encompasses the Bronx south of the Cross-Bronx Expressway (and a swath of varying width north of that highway), and in the primary study area, which is more narrowly focused on the corridor running along the Bruckner Expressway from the Tri-Borough Bridge to the Bronx River Parkway and the length of the Sheridan Expressway.
Modeling for the DEIS is intended to predict traffic and other conditions for the year 2030 and compare each of the four alternatives to a hypothetical “no-build” alternative.
The four options studied would approach today’s problematic intersection of the Bruckner and Sheridan expressways in different ways.
Alternative 1A would eliminate the Sheridan Expressway, and build a new Hunts Point access interchange on the Bruckner Expressway. Alternative 1B would also eliminate the Sheridan, and split Hunts Point access between two interchanges on the Bruckner.
Alternative 2C would reorganize and beef up Bruckner-Sheridan connecting structures and develop new Hunts Point access options from each highway, while Alternative 2D is similar, but omits one set of Bruckner ramps (at Leggett Avenue).
Each of the alternatives shows a reduction in vehicle hours traveled for the broad study area in the morning and evening rush periods compared to the no-build alternative.
Each option also shows a reduction in truck hours traveled for the study area in the morning and evening compared to no-build, again within a relatively tight range, especially when considering these truck hours are spread over two four-hour peak periods.
Vehicle hours traveled
Full study area, 6-10 AM plus 3-7 PM
No-Build: 113,776
1A: -641 (-0.56%)
1B: -2,400 (-2.12%)
2C: -3,499 (-3.14%)
2D: -3,589 (-3.25%)
Additionally, the build alternatives all show reductions in truck miles traveled for the primary study area on non-expressway roads in the morning and evening.
Truck hours traveled
Full study area, 6-10 AM plus 3-7 PM
No-Build: 8,731
1A: -46 (-0.53%)
1B: -204 (-2.35%)
2C: -331 (-3.88%)
2D: -341 (-4.06%)
Given these relatively small variations and the significant uncertainties around the demographic and transportation forecasts developed by transportation agencies for a point in time 25 years hence, and similar issues with transportation modeling, the decision seems to come down to one of how stakeholders and officials want the area to look and function in the future.
Truck miles traveled
Primary study area, , 6-10 AM plus 3-7 PM
No-Build: 24,245
1A: -1,147 (-4.73%)
1B: -1,084 (-4.69%)
2C: -3,069 (-13.25%)
2D: -2,139 (-8.8%)
Despite this, the NYSDOT’s presentation was heavily devoted to a subjective ranking of the options in favor of those that retain the SheridanExpressway. DOT’s ranking placed the preponderance of weight on a few measures such as small variations in truck speeds while not even considering the economic and other value of land freed for other uses in the Sheridan removal scenarios.
The results also show that the project selected will have little impact on emissions of air pollutants, as the study expects engine technology change will dramatically outweigh any reconfiguration of area highways in that regard.
The Sheridan Expressway is a 1.25-mile highway that carries relatively little traffic but blights the Bronx River and severs neighborhoods from each and the riverfront. The Southern Bronx River Watershed Alliance (
www.southbronxvision.org ) developed the idea of de-mapping the largely redundant Sheridan Expressway to free its land area for other types of development, likely including affordable housing, open space, retail and community facilities. The Tri-State Campaign is a member of the Alliance. The Alliance’s concept emerged as Alternative 1A in the current study.
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Updating CT's Transportation Strategy
Connecticut ’s Transportation Strategy Board is holding public hearings around the state anticipating a scheduled update of the state’s strategy in January. The sessions, and written input, may be a good opportunity for smart growth advocates to urge the board to move beyond articulation of project lists to institutional and planning reforms like those that have succeeded in uniting transportation and land use planning in many travel corridors in New Jersey. Upcoming hearings are Aug. 9 in New Haven and Aug. 23 in Norwich. For info, www.opm.state.ct.us/igp/TSB/tsbinfo.htm. [Back to Top]
NJTPA Rejects Widening of I-78
The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority will hold public meetings (see calendar for more information) to gather public input on ways to improve congestion on I-78 between Lehigh County, Pennsylvania and Somerset County without resorting to widening the highway.
An explanation by Somerset County Freeholder and former NJTPA Chair Peter Palmer on the project’s web site explains why a widening of the highway is a last resort — Interstate expansion is expensive, environmentally problematic and can promote sprawl.
The NJTPA conducted an online survey about the road that attracted 5,000 respondents. Some of the proposed solutions are extending the NJ Transit Raritan Valley Line, reactivating the Lackawanna Cutoff rail line, adding more park-and-rides, and updating and expanding bus routes.
The NJTPA has also been studying traffic patterns for the first time in over two decades and discovered that the vast majority of I-78 commuters are not going to New York. Only 10 percent work in New York City and the surrounding counties. By contrast 25% work in Hunterdon County, and another 25% in Somerset County.
Not everyone supports the study. The authority postponed two public forums planned for this month after Hunterdon County officials raised concerns about some of the proposals, including one to place a train and bus depot in Clinton Township.
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Ex-City Bike Planner Points Finger
Recently-resigned NYC bicycle planner Andrew Vesselinovitch told the NY Sun this week that city transportation commissioner Iris Weinshall shot down about half of the proposals advanced by the NYC DOT cycling office since Mayor Bloomberg was first elected, and that creation of new bicycle lanes in the city has fallen steadily throughout the mayor’s tenure in office.
Vesselinovitch had recently told the Daily News that DOT Deputy Commissioner Michael Primeggia obstructed resolution of the problem of raised expansion joints that were causing cyclists to crash on the Williamsburg Bridge bikeway. The problem was later resolved after complaints by cyclists, community boards and Transportation Alternatives (MTR #492) received media coverage.
Vesselinovitch also told the Sun that DOT brass urged him to stall when City Hall asked the agency to step up the pace of bicycling improvements. He said his bosses asked him to come up with excuses rather than projects, and to blame staffing levels and other agencies. He said Commissioner Weinshall gave community boards veto power over bike lanes as a way to limit their implementation.
The NYC DOT has answered the charges by pointing to the new bicycle lane on 8th Avenue in Manhattan and on earlier improvements to bike access to East River bridges.
The Commissioner’s apparent dislike of new bicycle lanes was also referred to in a Crain’s Insider item, which said that Weinshall was more interested in mandating helmet use by cyclists than in extending bike-way networks. The article said that the NY Police Dept. was unenthusiastic about having to enforce a helmet law and that the city’s health department was also not supportive.
As we recently pointed out (MTR #533), available evidence suggests that helmet laws suppress the incidence of bicycling without large safety gains. Bicycling advocates generally argue for an emphasis on preventing crashes with better designed streets and enforcement of laws governing drivers, rather than on mitigating injuries.
If Commissioner Weinshall is increasingly perceived as anti-bicyclist, any proposal to increase regulation of cyclists originating in her office could well become a lightning rod for cycling frustration in the city.
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