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TSTC Says The Lincoln Tunnel Needs A Second Exclusive Bus Lane

Posted by
on September 17th, 2008 at 5:03 pm

For the thousands of riders who depend on buses to get them from Upstate New York & New Jersey to Manhattan know, the exclusive bus lane in & approaching the Lincoln Tunnel is a blessing. The lane cuts travel time by up to 20 minutes when compared to using the non-exclusive lanes in & approaching the tunnel. Unfortunately the bus lane is only in effect during the morning rush going into New York. Evening rush hour commutes do not have the luxury of cutting their commuting time down even though the #’s suggest the lane would be even more useful in the evening.

This opinion has now publicly been stated by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign which took the time to look into the necessity of having a Lincoln Tunnel Exclusive Bus Lane. The TSTC’s Associate Director Veronica Vanterpool takes a look at the issue in her latest entry:

According to a TSTC analysis of data from the Port Authority, more cars leave New York City via the Lincoln Tunnel in the evening than come into the city in the morning. Yet, the Lincoln Tunnel Exclusive Bus Lane (XBL), which allows buses a faster lane through traffic congestion, is only in effect into NY and only during the morning rush hour. Buses headed back to New Jersey during evening peak times must contend with the same gridlock conditions that cars do, despite the environmental benefits of traveling by bus and despite the fact that bus passengers are the largest share of all commuters crossing the Hudson River into NYC.

Click here for the complete entry.

I used to live in Rockland County for 4 years & used the Red&Tan to reach NYC quite often. I definitely feel the TSTC has the right idea in calling for an exclusive bus lane for the evening rush. The traffic leaving New York can be downright horrific during the evening rush & riders face commutes that are 45+ minutes longer than it normally would be. The consistency with which these commutes occur should be a huge sign to showcase that a second exclusive bus lane should be seriously looked at.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Most Train Friendly Administration Ever?

Posted by
on September 17th, 2008 at 4:50 pm

Yesterday afternoon Democratic Vice President Nominee Joseph Biden made a very bold statement. On a train ride from Washington D.C. to his hometown of Wilmington Delaware, Biden told a passenger

If we get elected, it will be the most train-friendly administration ever.

Ben Smith & Victoria McGrane of Politico have more in this report:

Victoria McGrane reports:

The man who wears his daily commute like a badge of honor, Joe Biden took the opportunity Tuesday to take some of the media with him on his Amtrak trip from D.C.’s Union Station to Wilmington, Del. TV and print reporters accompanied him, while the rest of the traveling press corps took the bus to his campaign stop in Media, Pa.

He hugged employees and shook hands up and down the aisle of the car he was seated in, according to the pool report.

“Hey, I’m the nuisance,” Biden told one of the pool reporters who expressed concern he was interrupting the candidate. Biden indicated the crowd of cameras and Secret Service agents around of camera people and secret service agents around him. “I used to ride this thing every day and nobody paid any attention.”

Click here for the complete report.

Transit advocates can only hope he really means what he says……

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Mayor Bloomberg Says City Bridges Are Not For Sale

Posted by
on September 17th, 2008 at 4:38 pm

In the previous entry I mentioned how former Transportation Commissioner Louis Riccio proposed an idea of the MTA buying the Manhattan & Williamsburg Bridges for $1 each. The proposal was made at Monday’s initial Ravitch Commission hearing at NYU. The proposal got a quick response from NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg who nixed it immediately. New York Daily News transit reporter Pete Donohue had this very brief report:

Mayor Bloomberg Tuesday knocked down the idea of selling the Williamsburg and Manhattan bridges to the MTA.

A former transportation commissioner floated the idea Monday, saying the Metropolitan Transportation Authority could impose tolls and raise needed funds for mass transit.

“It is very impractical to only toll a couple of bridges,” Bloomberg said. “You would create chaos in people trying to avoid the tolled bridges.”

Bloomberg champions a congestion pricing scheme that would have drivers pay $6 to go below 60th St. State lawmakers nixed the plan. The MTA wouldn’t need state approval to impose tolls.

I am with Bloomberg on this as selling the city bridges is another band-aid type solution in attempts to cover a huge flesh wound. He is spot on with saying this would create chaos in drivers trying to avoiding the tolled bridges. Many already do this by going out of their way now, add 2 more bridges to the pay list & all hell will break loose.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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MTA Should Buy Two City Bridges For $1 Each….

Posted by
on September 17th, 2008 at 4:30 pm

Earlier this afternoon I wrote about the initial Ravitch Commission hearing that was held at NYU. I mainly focused on the main sentiments that are shared by many transit advocates throughout the region. However at this hearing former Transportation Commissioner Louis Riccio proposed an idea he called “congestion pricing lite”. The idea called for the MTA to buy the Manhattan & Williamsburg Bridges from the city for $1 each. New York Daily News transit reporter Pete Donohue has more in his report:

Hey, MTA, wanna buy a bridge … or two?

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority should purchase the Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges from the city for $1 each – and impose tolls, a former city official urged.

Ex-Transportation Commissioner Louis Riccio called his concept “congestion pricing lite” because other East River crossings would remain free.

“We’re talking hundreds of millions of dollars that could be found for the MTA,” Riccio testified yesterday at a Manhattan hearing of the state Commission on MTA Financing.

The commission, formed by Gov. Paterson and chaired by Richard Ravitch, is expected to release in December a report recommending how state and local officials can address a burgeoning transportation crisis.

The MTA’s bus and subway system is bursting at the seams. It’s facing huge gaps in its operating and capital budgets. The city’s population, according to some experts, will grow by 1 million over the next decade or so.

Riccio said he believes his scheme wouldn’t require approval by either the state Legislature or City Council because the MTA is authorized by its charter to buy “transit facilities” and impose tolls. The Williamsburg and Manhattan bridges support subway lines and can be considered transit facilities, he said.

Click here to read the complete report.

I’m sorry but I can’t support any sort of plan which is finding a way to replicate parts of the ridiculous & shortsighted congestion pricing plan. While this is considered a “lite” version of the original plan, it still unfairly attempts to “Rob Peter to pay Paul” & that is not the way to go about doing things. I also can’t picture the city going for this especially since Mayor Bloomberg has lashed out at the proposal (more on that in the next entry).

This idea does not seem to be going over well based on the responses to the Daily News Article as most are against the idea. While I can understand the sentiment against the idea, I am concerned about the attitude of some towards any possible ideas. The attitude or thinking displayed by responder “streetz” who said:

I am with you, Dave P. Famous, I live 10 minutes from lower Mahattan. I want to jump on one of those free bridges, run to the city, and come right home. I dont give a hoot about the bus service in Rockland, nor Bridgeport, nor Fiji for that matter. All that equates to, is a free ride from the suburbs at my time and expense (wait times and tolls).

For people, most of whom have the money and cars to make the trips in other ways. Their trips dont even entail the use of the east river crossings. How ill is that? You must be crazy to think the people of Bklyn, Queens and LI want to subsidize Suburban express trains, and rising MTA pensions and salaries. Thats the real issue. Free rides for suburbanites, and clears streets for Manhattans’ richest, all at the expense of the working class of bk, queens, and western LI.

is concerning as it is nothing but a detriment towards the goal of better mass transit. How are things supposed to change when people can’t grasp the concept of how a properly funded & operated transit infrastructure benefits everyone? The fight continues on…….

xoxo Transit Blogger

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LIRR To Rebuild Atlantic Avenue Viaduct

Posted by
on September 17th, 2008 at 2:12 pm

I just literally received a press release from the LIRR to announce their $93.4 million dollar project to rebuild the Altantic Avenue Viaduct. Here is the release:

$93.4 MILLON PROJECT TO BE DONE ON WEEKENDS TO MINIMIZE IMPACT ON TRAIN CUSTOMERS AND BROOKLYN NEIGHBORHOODS

MTA Long Island Rail Road President Helena E. Williams announced today that the Atlantic Avenue Viaduct, which carries LIRR customers between Jamaica and Downtown Brooklyn, is about to undergo a major rehabilitation.

The 16-month project is the first of a two-phase plan to overhaul the viaduct with the work to be conducted on weekends only.

“Our goal is to restore this much traveled and critical stretch of Railroad infrastructure to a state of good repair and extend the service life of the viaduct to ensure safe and reliable service to our customers and the public,” said Williams. “We will achieve this with an absolute minimum amount of inconvenience to riders and to the surrounding Brooklyn neighborhoods.”

Work is scheduled to begin October 25, on the replacement of girders, beams and bracing as well as the upper portion of street columns supporting the structure. Built in 1901, the viaduct stretches about a mile and a half from Ralph Avenue to Nostrand Avenue, supported by 199 individual steel spans each of which are about 10 feet apart.

Phase I is scheduled for completion in January 2010 at a cost of $93.4 million. It will involve the replacement of 81 spans between Ralph Avenue and Troy Avenue and six spans between Kingston Avenue and Brooklyn Avenue. Work will progress east to west over approximately 36 weekends to minimize the impact on train travel and local street traffic. The LIRR will maintain normal train service throughout the project, at times operating on a single track.

In 2007, more than 25,000 customers traveled the line each weekday and another 16,000 on the weekend.

The project will require temporary street lane and intersection closures and traffic will be guided toward alternative routes to avoid construction areas. To ensure the safety of pedestrians and motorists, the city’s Department of Transportation has agreed to provide Traffic Enforcement Agents at key locations as required.

Preparatory work will take place Monday through Friday. Demolition and replacement work will be done in 49-hour windows on weekends (including overnight) with tracks fully operable by Monday morning rush hour.

In addition to the replacement of the steel spans, new track will be installed along with new center and outer walkways. The viaduct will also receive a fresh coat of paint.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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