Local Official Says Don’t Bother Proposing East River Bridge Tolls
Last month, news came out about the Ravitch Commission possibly looking into proposing tolls on the East River Bridges. The news was met with harsh criticism by many including Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz who said “East River tolls are discriminatory, impractical, and impose an unfair ‘tax’ on the outer boroughs—especially Brooklyn.”
Now we can add another local elected official who strongly opposes tolls on the East River Bridges. This sentiment was shared by Upper East Side Assembly Member Micah Kellner who urged Governor Patterson to include two Citizens Budget Commission proposals in the next budget. One of the proposals called for increasing drivers license & car registration fees.
A similar proposal was recently raised by New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. However the proposals differ in the amount that would be charged. Under the CBC’s plan, the fees would be the same across the board for registrations. Under the comptroller’s plan, the fee would be determined by the weight of the vehicle.
Lets look a little more at the sentiment shared by Assemblyman Micah Kellner who had this to post on his blog:
So it’s “official,” our country has been in a recession since December, 2007, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, which announced the non-news earlier this morning.
Of course, we already knew this to be true for many months. On November 20th, MTA CEO Elliot Sander told the MTA Board, that new economic forecasts show projected deficit gaps of “$383 million for 2008, $1.441 billion for 2009, $2.394 billion for 2010, and nearly $3 billion in 2012, before prior-year carryover or gap closing actions.”
As I’ve blogged before, I am very concerned about the fiscal outlook for the MTA and how cuts to services, capital projects, system maintenance, and increased user fees will impact riders. But the negative effects spillover beyond transit users. The MTA is the lifeblood of the New York metropolitan area and when it suffers, so does the regional economy.
On September 15th, the Citizens Budget Commission (CBC) testified before the Ravitch Commission and outlined a number of practical suggestions for how to increase dedicated mass transit revenue.
Today, I wrote to Governor Paterson to urge that two CBC proposals be included in his 2009 Executive budget: Raising car registration fees and driver license fees by at least $50 annually.
With the Ravitch Commission’s report due to be released on Friday, now is the time to be examining all the options including this one and other good ideas like reinstituting the commuter tax.
Click here for the complete entry.
While the proposal might hold some merit, it is clear that the MTA will need more than this to help close its growing operating budget deficit. Our elected officials need to keep an open mind to possible suggestions that will come from the Ravitch Commission. I continue to not support congestion pricing but I am open to at least seeing what else the Ravitch Commission will propose. Will our elected officials show the same open mindedness? I seriously hope so as the future of our transit’s infrastructure is at stake!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Remodeled GWB Bus Station Won’t Feature Big Retail
I decided to visit Streetsblog a few minutes ago & noticed they had an article up about the soon to be remodeled George Washington Bridge Bus Station. The article focused on a report in The Manhattan Times which stated that the plan to bring “big retail” into the remodeled station has been nixed. The issue at hand is the amount of vehicular traffic that would be brought into the neighborhood. Brad Aaron of Streetsblog has more:
Plans to bring “big box” retail to a remodeled George Washington Bridge Bus Station have been scuttled due to fears that it would attract more car-commuting shoppers to Washington Heights.
Instead, according to the Manhattan Times, the Port Authority will build spaces for about a dozen smaller commercial shops and offices, says PA Executive Director Christopher Ward.
Click here for the complete article.
I think it is a smart idea to nix the idea of “big retail” being apart of the remodeled GWB Bus Station. The area is highly congested as it is & adding such stores would only worsen the situation. While on paper it might sound like a great idea to give riders & local residents more shopping choices, the positives have to outweigh the negatives.
In this case, bringing in “big retail” establishments would not only invite local residents to shop but out of area residents as well. One could safely assume that many of these residents would actually be from New Jersey. With this in mind, one could once again safely assume most of these potential shoppers will reach the stores by a means of vehicular transportation. This would beg the question, where would they park? “Big retail” establishments usually come with sizable parking accommodations. The area does not have the means to provide that & in this case, thank goodness for that!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Local Residents Frustrated With Possibly Losing The M8
We all know the laundry list of potential service cuts & elimination that face us if the MTA adapts the recently presented operating budget. One of the routes facing possible elimination is the M8, a crosstown route that travels between the East Village & West Village. Local elected officials & residents are frustrated with the possibility of losing the M8. Jefferson Siegel of The Villager has more in this report:
The river-to-river Eighth St. cross-town bus has been targeted in a scenario of sweeping transit service cuts and fare hikes.
At a public meeting last Thursday, Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials outlined a sweeping package of cutbacks that includes permanently axing the route.
“This proposal is a recommendation that the M.T.A. achieve savings through the elimination of the M8 bus route,” authority spokesperson Aaron Donovan said. If there was a glimmer of hope, Donovan said that all cuts are in the proposal stage. However, if the route is eliminated at a Dec. 17 vote, as appears likely, “it would be a permanent action,” Donovan added.
News of the proposal came as a surprise to many of the M8’s regular riders. Just after 3 p.m. last Friday, students poured out of the Village Community School at W. 10th and Greenwich Sts. The young scholars and their guardians lined up to board an eastbound bus that quickly became standing room only.
Click here for the complete report.
This was one of the routes that surprised me in terms of potential service cuts or eliminations. I have ridden this line on many different occasions & noticed a pretty decent ridership for it. While I am not saying it was loaded from pillar to post, it was not close to being empty either.
I seriously hope something happens where we do not have to see such drastic service cuts. I won’t say no service cuts as the agency should look to legitimately cut back or eliminate service that is not needed.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Congestion Pricing Editorial
Sticking with The Brooklyn Eagle for a moment, the paper featured an editorial on “Congestion Pricing” written by Dennis Holt. Here is a sample:
y the end of this week, all of us will know the probably unpleasant details from the Ravitch report — ideas on how to generate revenues for the MTA, sure to impact everyone.
One of those “details” has been widely broadcast — tolls on the East River and Harlem River bridges, at last.
Some estimates indicate that the East River tolls would generate $600 million, or about half of the money shortfall forecast by the MTA. The recommendations, which have to be approved by the state, are sure to be acrimonious and to be discussed far too long.
Let’s keep in mind that a street toll is, by any other name, a congestion pricing policy. Congestion pricing, by that phrase, has not appeared much in the discourse of recent weeks.
But tolls on the East River bridges are an example of congestion pricing. In fact, most experts believe that bridge tolls would be a much more effective and efficient way to reduce auto traffic in Manhattan than the original Bloomberg plan.
Click here for the complete editorial.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Local Brooklyn Officials Hold Protest Rally
This past Monday, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz joined Councilman Bill de Blasio & other community leaders at a protest rally. The rally was to protest the possible elimination of some bus & subway routes. The Brooklyn Eagle has more in this report:
Monday, Borough President Marty Markowitz, Councilman Bill de Blasio and community members held a rally here to protest the MTA’s recent proposal to eliminate numerous subway and bus lines serving Brooklyn.
The rally was held at the B75 bus stop on Fifth Avenue and Ninth Street in Park Slope – one of the routes for which the authority is proposing to cut weekday and weekend service. The bus stop is a block away from the F train’s Fourth Avenue-Ninth Street station.
Elected leaders also called on the Ravitch Commission to recommend reinstating the commuter tax, rather than placing tolls on the East River bridges.
“The solution to the MTA’s financial crisis is not nickel-and-diming the working families who depend on the subway and bus system to get to work everyday. We must look toward creative solutions, like reinstating the Commuter Tax, that will not disproportionately burden outer-borough New Yorkers,” said de Blasio.
To address its mounting financial troubles, the MTA recently announced a proposal to eliminate and/or truncate 26 bus and numerous subway lines. Among the services to be eliminated that impact Brooklyn riders are G train service north of Court House Square, rush-hour M train service to Brooklyn and weekend service on the X27 and X28 express bus lines.
The MTA also proposed instating drastic fare hikes for all subway and bus rides, including raising the base subway and bus fare to $2.50.
Click here for the complete report.
I can understand the frustration of Brooklyn riders as no one wants to lose service. I do not have specific information at my current disposal in terms of ridership #’s on these routes. If they happen to be low, would it really be a loss to cutback or eliminate service? While I want to see all measures considered before service cuts, if it comes down to it I can’t see why low ridership routes should not be scaled back or eliminated.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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