 American Dream Meadowlands | photo: www.americandream.com Even before the developers of American Dream Meadowlands (formerly “Xanadu“)—a hulking, still-half-built retail development currently lumbering towards completion in North Jersey—announced plans to add a theme park to the project, they had been ignoring a serious issue: how people would get there. TSTC recently pointed this out in a Star-Ledger op-ed and called for American Dream’s developers to fund public transit to the site.
TSTC’s concern comes from the project’s draft supplemental environmental impact statement (DSEIS), which sidesteps the problem of transit access. By relying on the original EIS’ faulty traffic analysis and omitting plans for public transit funding, the revision fails to address the project’s impacts on traffic in the Meadowlands.
The studies were not methodologically sound
For a supplemental EIS to make logical sense, the first EIS must be sound. This is not true in the case of American Dream. In fact, in 2004, a joint government commission found that the project’s initial EIS didn’t investigate the project’s traffic impacts thoroughly enough, since it only examined the roads on the Meadowlands’ grounds:
“In order to properly evaluate the traffic impact [of the development], the applicant is advised to assess all major nodes and links within a regional context (recommended minimum radius of four (4) miles from the proposed project boundaries).”
Seven years later, no such study has been done (despite the opportunity presented by the DSEIS).
The initial and supplemental studies also relied on the Institute for Traffic Engineers’ generic “trip generation rates” in their traffic analyses. ITE trip generation rates’ shortcomings are well-documented, and they may not adequately capture American Dream’s scope and prominence. Instead of using bad, generic numbers, why not analyze consumer behavior at other megamalls and apply that information to Bergen County?
These methodological faults mean that nobody knows what the development could do to traffic in the Meadowlands.
Those same traffic studies assume transit service to the mall, but there is none
As if that weren’t enough, the initial EIS assumed that 10% of visitors would arrive by rail or bus. The developers were depending on public transit to help relieve the traffic that comes with a massive retail/entertainment destination, as it does at their other properties.
But while the supplemental report (DSEIS) relies on these public-transit-dependent traffic estimates, no regular bus lines currently service the site, and commuter rail service only runs during special events.
The developers assume that NJ Transit will add routes once the project is complete, but NJ Transit is already stretched thin, and it’s unrealistic to expect them to expand service without extra funds. The bill for transit to American Dream must be footed by someone, and it shouldn’t be the New Jersey taxpayer (who has already subsidized Triple Five Worldwide, the site’s developer, handsomely). Accordingly, TSTC is calling on Triple Five Worldwide to fund public transit to the site, which would ease traffic and make the destination attractive to those without cars.
Your weekly guide to heroic and villainous actions in tri-state transportation and development.
Winners
 Metro-North's New Haven Line posted record ridership | photo: Wikimedia Commons
Riverkeeper—New York State’s water safety and environmental watchdog voiced its opposition to the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement project’s draft environmental impact statement (DEIS). Chief among their concerns was the absence of transit on the bridge. The DEIS “does not adequately address resulting traffic congestion as a contributor to pollution,” said the group.
USDOT—the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) has proposed new criteria for its New Starts and Small Starts programs that include “social equity.” They also promise faster project delivery. This should be good news for our transit-rich region.
Metro-North and PATH—in 2011, Metro-North’s New Haven line got a record 38.2 million people to work and PATH moved an all-time high of 76.6 million. We’re glad to see that so many tri-staters are taking public transit. State legislatures should take note.
Newsday editorial board—the Long Island Rail Road lost the “America’s busiest commuter rail” title to Metro-North, and Newsday took notice. The paper’s editorial board called attention to LIRR’s overcrowded facilities at Jamaica and Penn Station, advocated for a second track to Ronkonkoma and better intra-island service, and urged station communities to pursue transit-oriented development.
Losers
Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce—the MRCC’s president objected to TSTC’s position that Triple Five Worldwide, the company behind a megamall in the Meadowlands, should fund public transit to the development. Apparently, he thinks that taxpayers should pay for train and bus improvements instead.
NYPD—the New York City Police Department has repeatedly mishandled the death of Matthew Lefevre. Last October, the cyclist died after being hit by a truck, but the police department “withheld details of the crash from the victim’s family and failed to gather evidence at the scene.” Now, the Brooklyn DA is investigating. Streetsblog reports that this is standard procedure for any fatality.
Authors of the Tappan Zee DEIS—the Tappan Zee replacement plan DEIS was released earlier this week, and TSTC’s preliminary review showed that it was wholly inadequate. The DEIS does not study a full range of alternatives or include bus rapid transit (BRT). The proposal does nothing to resolve the congestion issues or pollution concerns that plague the Lower Hudson Valley, and clearly goes against the state’s Smart Growth Public Infrastructure Priority Act. To learn more about the Tappan Zee project and the area’s transportation future, visit www.brtonthebridge.org.
 Graphic: Alliance for Biking and Walking This week, the Alliance for Biking and Walking released its 2012 Benchmarking Report, and the timing is impeccable. As Streetsblog points out, the release coincides with the soon-to-appear national surface transportation bill, and in the tri-state region, it comes just after state legislatures have gotten into full swing. With statistics, case studies and loads of other resources, the Benchmarking Report shows legislators where the nation’s biking and walking infrastructure stands.
After the jump, TSTC presents some of the report’s most interesting figures.
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TSTC has released preliminary comments on the Tappan Zee replacement project’s draft environmental impact statement (DEIS).
The release is reproduced below, and there is also a .pdf available here.
TSTC’s preliminary review has found a number of issues with the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement project. Among them are:
The state has not fully examined all possible alternatives for the project. During the October scoping hearings, there was a clear call for public transit on the bridge, but the DEIS does not address it.
Despite a consensus among Lower Hudson residents that bus rapid transit (BRT) would solve the region’s congestion problems, the DEIS does not plan to include it.
The DEIS suggests that the bridge replacement will have no negative air quality impact. TSTC regards this projection with skepticism, since previous environmental documents have said that public transportation was necessary to address congestion and pollution in the Hudson Valley.
The DEIS claims that the new bridge is in compliance with New York’s Smart Growth Public Infrastructure Policy Act, a piece of legislation that requires infrastructure projectsto incorporate sustainability measures and plan for the future. In particular, projects must “encourage and allow for greater public transportation options with the goal of reducing automobile usage.” In the case of the Tappan Zee Bridge, this requirement is unmet.
The document ignores the economic benefits of building public transit. We maintain that a BRT system in the I-287 corridor would create jobs now and in the future.
There is still no financial plan for the project.
TSTC reminds New Yorkers that the public conversation is not over yet: there are public meetings on February 28 and March 1. We also invite people to visit our website, brtonthebridge.org, to learn more about the need for a 21st century bridge.
TSTC will release a more complete assessment of the DEIS next week.
 The Tappan Zee Bridge | photo: rockinfree, via flickr The draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for the proposed Tappan Zee Bridge replacement has been released.
The DEIS’ public comment period, which ends on March 15, gives New Yorkers a chance to voice their opinions on the project. For the past decade, Lower Hudson Valley residents have discussed adding bus rapid transit (BRT) to the I-287 corridor and the Tappan Zee Bridge, but Governor Cuomo’s plans to fast-track the bridge’s construction do not accommodate it. The DEIS is available here. After the public comment period, the DEIS will be revised. Comments can be submitted by any of the following:
- tzbsite@dot.state.ny.us
- 845-454-7443 (fax)
- 877-892-3685 (phone)
- Michael P Anderson
Tappan Zee Hudson River Crossing Project
New York State Dept. of Transportation
4 Burnett Boulevard
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
There are two scheduled public hearings on the DEIS:
- Rockland County: Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 4pm-9pm
Palisades Center, 4th Floor Community Rooms
1000 Palisades Center Drive
West Nyack, New York 10994
- Westchester County: Thursday, March 1, 2012 4pm-9pm
Westchester Marriott, Grand Ballroom
670 White Plains Road
Tarrytown, New York 10591
The North Westchester Energy Action Consortium (NWEAC), a group representing 14 Westchester municipalities and their 230,000 residents, has followed the lead of the town of Hastings-on-Hudson in passing a resolution that calls on “Governor Cuomo, the New York State Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Authority to restore dedicated public transportation infrastructure to its long-held place in any and all plans for the replacement of the Tappan Zee Bridge.”
Hastings-on-Hudson and NWEAC point out that transit should be part of any replacement plans for the Tappan Zee from the start, for reasons including the following:
1) The State has data and feedback from over ten years of study and 280 public meetings that indicate that transit needs to be part of the Tappan Zee replacement project
2) Developing public transportation is vital to “relieving congestion in the Corridor and local arterials, improving air quality, achieving sustainability goals, reducing dependence on fossil fuels, improving pedestrian safety, and improving motorist travel time, in Westchester and New York State”
3) “Residents of Hastings-on-Hudson and other communities in the TZB service area would be burdened by many years of unnecessarily increasing traffic if transit infrastructure is not included in the TZB Replacement”
4) “Westchester County is planning its own Bus Rapid Transit (“BRT”) routes along Central Avenue which would benefit by and become more effective by eventually interconnecting to BRT or other public transportation on the TZB”
NWEAC adds: “including public transportation in the TZB Replacement is consistent with and advances the purposes of numerous state, county and federal government policies aimed at reducing dependence on foreign oil, air pollution and the emission of greenhouse gases, including the New York State Climate Action Plan, the Westchester Action Plan for Climate Change, and federal goals enshrined in the Clean Air Act, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act, Executive Order 13514…”
Both groups agree that a “failure to build public transportation now when billions of dollars are being dedicated to the TZB Replacement would be penny wise and pound foolish.”
The municipalities that are members of NWEAC include:
- Bedford
- Cortlandt
- Lewisboro
- New Castle
- North Castle
- North Salem
- Ossining
- Pound Ridge
- Somers
- Yorktown
- City of Peekskill
- Village of Croton-on-Hudson
- Village of Mt. Kisco
 The rollback in the transit benefit impacts the highlighted NJ Transit stations, and then some (this image was cropped for space). Click to view all of the affected stations in PDF form. Transit riders throughout the tri-state region are facing heavy financial burdens after the transit commuter benefit was rolled back on January 1.
Before the cut, Americans could spend up to $230 in pretax income on the public transit that gets them to work, but the figure is now $125. At the same time, an equivalent benefit for parking rose to $240 per month, which means that the federal tax code now incentivizes driving over public transportation.
A monthly pass between New York City and almost any station on NJ Transit rail, Metro-North, or the Long Island Rail Road costs more than $125. For someone who makes $50,000 annually and spends $230 a month on transit, the rollback is tantamount to a yearly tax hike of $400.
 At CommuterBenefitsWorkForUs.com, workers can e-mail Congress in support of restoring the transit benefit. Lawmakers that attempted to extend the expiring commuter tax benefit at the end of last year have renewed their efforts in 2012. Senator Chuck Schumer said he would continue working to restore the benefit, New Jersey Senators Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez made similar pledges, and Connecticut’s Senator Richard Blumenthal and Representative Rosa DeLauro highlighted the issue at a press conference. All support the Commuter Benefits Equity Act (S1034/HR2412), which would permanently set the transit benefit equal to the parking benefit at $240/month. It has been co-sponsored by 10 senators, including all six from the tri-state region. The House equivalent currently has 62 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle.
When Congress debates the extension of a payroll tax cut, which will expire on February 29, legislators will likely have an opportunity to restore the benefit on a temporary basis. Commuters can e-mail Congress in support of restoring the transit benefit at CommuterBenefitsWorkForUs.com.
In the New York State Legislature, Senator Charles Fuschillo has introduced a bill to allow residents to deduct commuting costs from their state taxes as if the federal benefit had not been reduced. (State residents would still have a higher federal tax bill if Congress does not restore the benefit).
After the jump, TSTC maps show the rollback’s impact on Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road customers. NYC express bus riders, NJ Transit riders, commuter bus riders, and many whose commute involves multiple transit systems also have monthly transit costs that top $125.
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Your weekly guide to heroic and villainous actions in tri-state transportation and smart growth.
This week’s winners:
 Governor Cuomo
Hastings-on-Hudson—the Westchester village’s Board of Trustees passed a resolution urging Governor Cuomo to include mass transit in the Tappan Zee replacement plan. Hastings-on-Hudson’s resolution affirms what TSTC and the public have been saying over the past decade: transit must have a place on the bridge.
Connecticut Department of Transportation Commissioner Jim Redeker—in a TSTC interview earlier this week, the ConnDOT commissioner showed a commitment to smart growth and sustainable transportation. He’s forging ahead with system integration, complete streets, and hybrid buses.
Senators Lautenberg and Menendez—New Jersey’s Senators sent a joint letter to the Delaware River Port Authority in support of an ADA-accessible ramp on the Ben Franklin Bridge’s Camden side. A ramp on the bridge would both improve accessibility and lighten the load for cyclists, who currently have to carry their bikes up three flights of stairs before they can ride across. Construction plans have not yet been solidified.
Governor Cuomo—New York’s governor came through on his promise to fill the MTA funding gap that was opened by last year’s Payroll Mobility Tax cut. The executive budget released Tuesday compensates the MTA for lost tax revenue, follows through on plans for $770 million in MTA Capital Program assistance, gives struggling upstate transit systems support, and consolidates the New York State Department of Transportation. While New York State’s transportation doesn’t make any great gains in the budget, it doesn’t lose much either. Speaking of which…
This week’s losers:
New York City Council—the New York City Council passed legislation that gives people a 5-minute grace period on muni-meters. Council Members also voted unanimously to stop sticking signs on cars that don’t adhere to parking regulations on street sweeping days. Council Speaker Quinn, reflecting on her own parking sticker experience, said that “it was a multiday effort…you almost have to chisel it.” Shouldn’t the council focus on some other issues on New York’s streets, like Manhattan’s 10 most dangerous intersections all being near housing projects?
New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner Jim Simpson—in response to a reporter’s question about complete streets this week, Commissioner Simpson said that ”we work well with Tri-State, but Tri-State thinks throwing money everywhere is a solution. If we had fatal accidents where people were walking in the street, we’d build sidewalks there, but we can’t build sidewalks everywhere.” TSTC, which acknowledges NJDOT’s financial challenges, has criticized the agency for its overspending on highway expansion and underfunding smart growth and complete streets initiatives. So it’s not that we want to ‘throw money everywhere’—we just want to see more of New Jersey’s funds going towards pedestrian safety.
Connecticut Senator Joe Markley and Representative Whit Betts—the two Republican state legislators are attempting to reroute state funds for the Hartford-New Britain Busway, a bus rapid transit project whose substantial federal funding was sewn up in November. TSTC has long supported plans for the busway (you know how we feel about BRT), and is heartened by the Hartford Courant’s assurances:
To even get the idea on the table, though, [Markley and Betts would] have to win over a legislative committee chaired by one of the busway’s chief supporters.
Even if that happens during this short legislative season, the bill then would need more than half of the heavily Democratic General Assembly to vote down one of Democratic Gov.Dannel P. Malloy’s signature projects.
Governor Chris Christie—New Jersey’s governor stealthily signed the so-called “dirty water bill” into law on Wednesday. The hushed maneuver, which was overshadowed by a State of the State speech that included no mention of smart growth, could lead to sprawling developments in environmentally sensitive areas. Green advocates opposed the bill, since it staves off the implementation of environmentally-conscious development regulations for the next two years.
ReplaceTheTZBridgeNow.org—last week, a group called replacethetzbridgenow.org declared its existence. The group said that they would push for the immediate replacement of the Tappan Zee Bridge without mass transit. One of their many problems appears to be technical: despite naming themselves after their website, as of 5:18pm today, replacethetzbridgenow.org is not live.
 ConnDOT Commissioner Jim Redeker In 2007, after a troubled widening of I-84, a reform commission reported that the Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) “badly needs fundamental change.”
TSTC analyses indicate that ConnDOT has been slowly improving since then, and we sat down with Commissioner Jim Redeker, who has headed the agency since last March, to talk about his work. He will be speaking at tomorrow’s transportation financing forum in Hartford.
TSTC: How did your work at NJ Transit prepare you for the commissioner job?
Commissioner Jim Redeker: I think that Connecticut is much like New Jersey was 30 years ago: there’s not a lot of transportation-oriented development happening, there’s still opportunity for new investment in transit and opportunity to improve branch lines. And I really came to try to make a difference there.
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 Buses across the Tappan Zee run infrequently, even at rush hour. Photo: Dani Simons Even if Westchester’s transportation infrastructure is set up to funnel workers into New York City, more than 70% of commuters traveling across the Tappan Zee are on their way to jobs in the suburbs. Westchester residents work in Nyack, people from Orange go to jobs in White Plains.
As an MTR reader, you might wonder why more of these folks don’t just leave their cars at home and take transit between counties. I decided to find out for myself.
On an early morning in December, I made my way to the White Plains TransCenter, where thousands of commuters transfer between local and regional buses and Metro North. The Metro-North side of the center pulses to the beat of the train schedule. One moment, it’s completely still, and the next, it’s choreographed chaos, each commuter seeming to know exactly how long it will take them to buy coffee, walk up the stairs, and catch the train before the doors close.
 Waiting to get on the bus. Photo: Dani Simons Metro-North is great if you’re going north-south, but my goal was to go cross-county, east-west, so I headed over to the bus terminal side. There, I found myself not dancing but rather racing around to different stops, frantically reading signs posted by the various bus operators, to figure out the departure time and locations of each service provider. There’s no real-time bus departure information display, as there are in many other cities, which can help put passengers at ease, and also enable multiple bus companies to use the same stops.
Once I got my bearings, I found that I could take the OWL or the Tappan Zee Express across the bridge. The TPZ Express runs three eastbound buses across the bridge during the morning rush, and the OWL offers five more options. Luckily, I made my bus—if you mistime your commute, you’re liable to wait half an hour or more. Traffic, an uncooperative child, or a surprise phone call could be enough to make you miss your bus and start your day behind. If your boss needs you to stay a little late, you might be stuck for an extra hour at the TransCenter.
As I waited for my bus, I watched long lines of people queue up for arriving buses, waiting to pay their fare or flash their pass. I thought about how pre-board fare collection (as the MTA is starting to use in New York City on Select Bus Service routes) could speed things up.
After I got on board, my trip across was actually quite pleasant. It was getting to the transit center, figuring out where and when to catch the TPZ Express, when it would leave, and when I could get back that was 90% of the battle. Most days, the traffic is much worse, and unless you happen to work at the Palisades Center Stores, it’s likely that you’ll still have to transfer to another bus or walk a decent stretch to reach your final destination. And your boss is probably already waiting there.
Not only do today’s cross-country transit options often take longer than driving, they’re also more expensive. The TPZ Express will run you $3 each way, and though frequent riders can get discounts, even this is more expensive than paying the toll on the Tappan Zee Bridge.
With conditions like these, it’s no wonder that nearly 8% of commuter trips within Westchester County are by transit, but only 1.4% of cross-county trips are.
Employment growth in the three counties closest to the Tappan Zee is projected to grow by between 19-35% by 2025. Unless there is a better transit option, this means more cars on the road, more traffic congestion and a decreased quality of life for commuters and bystanders alike. And congestion will ultimately threaten this region’s growth.
Click here to read more about the proposals for Bus Rapid Transit on the Tappan Zee and ask the Governor to Restore Transit to the Tappan Zee plans.
Dani Simons is a sustainable transportation advocate working in the tri-state area.
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Masthead Mobilizing the Region is published by the staff of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.
Editors
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