 Bus lane cameras would be a major improvement over existing enforcement. New York City has big plans for speeding up buses, seeking to build on the success of the Select Bus Service on Fordham Road in the Bronx with new projects on 34th Street and First and Second Avenues in Manhattan, Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn, and elsewhere. But their impact will be limited as long as drivers continue to use new bus lanes for loading and parking. One bill could lead to faster rides and better quality of life for the 2.4 million New Yorkers who ride buses daily — legislation authorizing cities to use cameras to ticket drivers who block them.
There are two ways a bus lane enforcement camera program could pass Albany. Governor Paterson included the measure in the executive budget, and Assm. Jonathan Bing (D-Manhattan) and Senate Transportation Chair Martin Dilan (D-Brooklyn) have introduced a bill (A00862C/S2709D) that would do the same thing.
There is strong support for the proposal (the Bing/Dilan bill has 31 co- and multi-sponsors in the Assembly and 6 in the Senate, and the NYC Council passed a resolution in favor of bus lane cameras two years ago). But one obstacle may be Assembly Transportation Committee Chair David Gantt (D-Rochester), who killed a similar 2008 bill due to privacy concerns, even though the New York Civil Liberties Union helped draft and signed off on the bill language.
Advocates from Tri-State and other organizations were in Albany earlier this week to push for the proposal. Readers who want to support the bill can send faxes to Gantt through Transportation Alternatives’ website.
 After a 25% increase in transit fares, NJ Transit fares will have increased by 68% since 2000. Over the last 28 years, transit fares have nearly tripled -- while the gas tax has gone from 8 cents/gallon to 10.5. On Tuesday, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie released his 2010-11 budget, closing a strongly worded address to the State Legislature by asking legislators and state residents to “share in the sacrifices we must make today” in order to “lay the groundwork for growth.”
But the governor’s plan to raise NJ Transit fares by 25% and cut service across the state will do exactly the opposite, eroding a transportation network that is a pillar of the state’s economy. In an op-ed published in Sunday’s Bergen Record, TSTC’s Zoe Baldwin wrote that the plan “will hamper workers’ ability to get to and from their jobs, add congestion to our roadways, stop the economic revitalization that has bloomed around New Jersey’s transit hubs and add to the hardships of many working families.”
And Christie’s transportation proposals hardly qualify as “shared sacrifice.” The governor is raising fares for transit riders but has promised not to touch the gas tax, which has not been increased since 1988. Transit fares have been raised far more often, a historical comparison of New Jersey’s transit fares and gas tax shows. In the Record op-ed, Baldwin points out that a 10-cent/gallon increase in the gas tax would cost the average household $93 annually, while the proposed transit fare increases will cost commuters hundreds or thousands of dollars a year.
New Jersey residents can tell the governor and state legislators that huge fare hikes and service cuts aren’t the answer at www.tstc.org/njtransit/.
Image: TSTC graph using data from NJ Transit.
 The committee reported out a bill to direct ConnDOT to create a detailed plan for tolls. Tolls would have to be all-electronic, like the high-speed toll gantries on Houston's Westpark Tollway (above). Connecticut’s Joint Committee on Transportation reported several bills out of committee earlier this week, including a Tri-State supported bill to increase penalties for careless driving and an amended bill directing ConnDOT to prepare a plan to implement electronic tolls.
The first bill, known as “vulnerable users” legislation, would establish new penalties for careless driving which results in the injury or death of a pedestrian, cyclist, skater, highway worker, or driver of an agricultural vehicle. Convicted drivers would be required to take safety classes, perform at least 100 hours of community service, and pay a fine of up to $5,000. It passed the Committee overwhelmingly, by a 30-6 vote.
The bill is spearheaded by livable streets champion Representative Thomas Kehoe of Glastonbury, who noted after the vote that “vulnerable users always lose in an accident. Although we must all act responsibly, motorists need to keep a special look out and anticipate where non-motorized users might be. This bill complements the Complete Streets Law … and will promote safer streets that encourage people to walk, exercise and use mass transit and which makes our cities and towns more viable and its citizens healthier.”
In a much tighter vote, the Transportation Committee also reported out an amended bill to direct ConnDOT to develop a plan for implementing electronic tolls on Connecticut’s roads. Tri-State testified against the original bill, which called for electronic tolls only at Connecticut’s borders and would have faced constitutional challenges. The new language also means that ConnDOT now has the flexibility to make reducing congestion a priority in its toll study.
Both bills now need to make their way through other relevant committees in the Connecticut General Assembly before full votes can be taken in the House and Senate.
Two smart bills that did not make it out of committee this year would have established a statewide red light camera pilot program and a competitive grant program for pedestrian and cycling infrastructure.
Image: ASCE Houston.
 TSTC board member Charles Komanoff at a bike rental shop in Guangzhou. Tri-State Transportation Campaign board chair Rich Kassel, a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, joined Port Authority executive director Chris Ward last week to announce a truck replacement plan that will help clear the air around the ports of Newark, Elizabeth, and New York City. Kassel was instrumental in drafting the plan, described in more detail at NRDC’s Switchboard blog, to require that all trucks doing business at the ports have cleaner 2004-model engines by next year, and 2007-model engines by 2017. Currently, many truckers own vehicles that are almost 30 years old, and switching to a 2004-model-year truck will cut soot by two-thirds and nitrogen oxides by over 50%, according to NRDC. Switching to a 2007-year truck will cut soot by 95% and nitrogen oxides by 75%. Truck drivers will receive grants and low-interest loans to help them make the switch.
Also last week, TSTC board member and environmental economist Charles Komanoff was in Guangzhou, China, to discuss congestion pricing. In a piece on the New York Times‘ Dot Earth blog, Komanoff tells blogger Andy Revkin that major transit investments in Guangzhou have only slowed a rise in traffic congestion as car ownership in the city soars. National officials convened an “International Symposium” on traffic management, hoping to find solutions for the congestion which is clogging urban centers across the country.
Komanoff’s takeaway for Chinese policymakers? “Congestion pricing [is] a virtually fail-safe tool,” but “politics leaves little room for error in designing the toll, choosing the tolling technology, and marketing the program.”
Image: Courtesy Charles Komanoff via Dot Earth.
A report released last month by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign named Atlantic Avenue the most dangerous road for pedestrians in Brooklyn with 9 deaths over the three years from 2006 to 2008. Nearby Fourth Avenue ranked third with 6 pedestrian fatalities in the same period. Both roads ranked among the most dangerous in the entire NY/CT/NJ region, with Atlantic Avenue ranking third overall. With 20,000 additional car trips a day projected to be generated by the Atlantic Yards arena and housing project, which broke ground yesterday, these numbers may get much worse.
Many of the accidents in the report occurred near the Atlantic Yards site. For example, a 58-year-old woman was struck and killed in February of 2008 at the corner of Atlantic Avenue and 5th Avenue, a 37 year old male was killed at Atlantic and Nevins in 2006, and, in 2007, a 4 year old was killed at 3rd Ave and Baltic. All of these intersections could see traffic increases due to Atlantic Yards.
Crossing congested areas like the notorious Atlantic and Flatbush intersection on foot is already tempting fate. A time lapse video posted recently at Not Another F*cking Blog vividly demonstrates the overcrowded and dangerous conditions and the Crashstat.org map below shows a cluster of injuries in this area. Sadly, it appears to be only a matter of time before more lives are claimed along Atlantic Avenue.
 Blue circles indicate clusters of pedestrian injuries from 1995-2005, while red circles indicate clusters of cyclist injuries. Black impact marks are deaths. The Atlantic Yards site is outlined in red. The Tri-State report and Crashstat.org maps underscore BrooklynSpeaks sponsors’ fears that increased traffic from Atlantic Yards will only make nearby streets even more dangerous. The current “modified” project plan will add giant “interim” surface parking lots around the 18,000 seat Barclays Center Arena. With the same amount of parking as the original plan, the modified plan will likely generate at least the 20,000 new car trips originally projected.
To help prevent ever increasing pedestrian casualties, the BrooklynSpeaks coalition (which TSTC is a member of) has called on the Empire State Development Corporation and NYC to:
- Design and implement traffic-calming measures on the streets in surrounding neighborhoods to ensure pedestrian and cyclist safety.
- Limit interim surface parking to no more than this reduced number of spaces allocated for the Arena, and define a specific timeline for their replacement by open space or non-parking uses at grade.
- Adopt mass transit incentives and demand management strategies to reduce by 50% the number of parking spaces programmed for the Arena under the revised plan.
- Provide adequate State and City funding for the MTA to ensure that transit service to the development is preserved and enhanced.
- Implement residential permit parking in surrounding neighborhoods to ensure that they are not overwhelmed with cars searching for free parking on game and event days.
Finally, the City and State must prepare a comprehensive traffic plan which includes and integrates the issues above and responds to the impact of an arena at this, the most congested and environmentally compromised intersection in Brooklyn.
Image: TSTC graphic using map from Transportation Alternatives’ Crashstat.org.
A version of this article has been cross-posted on BrooklynSpeaks.
A new report from the Regional Plan Association, written in cooperation with Tri-State Transportation Campaign and NJ Future, makes it clear that New Jersey’s ability to expand and maintain its transportation network is at risk. “Spiral of Debt: The Unsustainable Structure of New Jersey’s Transportation Trust Fund,” shows how the state Transportation Trust Fund, which was created in 1984 as a pay-as-you-go funding source for transportation investment, is now overburdened with debt and will go bankrupt by mid-2011. If this happens, NJDOT and NJ Transit will lose their primary source of funds for construction projects, a significant source of operating funds, and up to $1.6 billion a year in federal matching funds, crippling the state’s ability to provide even basic maintenance and repair and severely damaging New Jersey’s economic competitiveness.
Revenue for the Fund comes from dedicated portions of the gas tax, petroleum gross receipts tax, and sales tax, and amounts to nearly $900 million annually. While the Trust Fund was envisioned as a pay-as-you-go funding stream, over the past two decades, it increasingly became a vehicle for short-term and long-term debt (MTR previously recapped much of this history). In 2006, then-Gov. Corzine continued this trend by refinancing the Fund’s debt and stretching payment on existing bonds out over additional decades. Debt payments have soared over the Trust Fund’s history, and by 2011 all of the revenue dedicated to the Fund will go towards debt:
Clearly, the state cannot afford to take out more unfunded debt, and cannot afford to do nothing. The report recommends that New Jersey:
- Transition to more pay-as-you-go financing and stop the practice of paying for maintenance with debt;
- Look to creatively reduce costs by internal restructurings and reprioritizing funding on certain projects;
- Share the burden of raising new funds among all those who benefit from healthy transportation systems, including drivers, riders, businesses and polluters; and
- Constitutionally dedicate any new monies to the Trust Fund and rely less on appropriations in state funding.
The full report explains where the Trust Fund’s revenue comes from, what the Fund pays for, the history of its debt, and ways that other states have cut costs and raised transportation revenue. It is available here.
Image: Graph from RPA report.
 The Pennsauken Transit Center (in light blue) would connect the Atlantic City Rail Line, River Line light rail, and local buses -- all of which are facing cutbacks in service. On Friday, Vice President Biden and USDOT Secretary LaHood announced funding for 191 new Recovery Act transit projects in 42 states. Unfortunately, this final round of grants for new buses, train cars, and construction projects comes at a time when transit agencies across the country are laying off workers and cutting service to close huge operating deficits. In our region alone, NJ Transit is proposing to cut 200 transit workers and the MTA is looking to eliminate more than 1,000 workers. Transit riders in both states are also facing extensive service cuts (complete list of NJ Transit cuts here and MTA service cuts here).
Straphangers may not appreciate these critical investments if cash-strapped transit agencies are forced to continue cutbacks in service. For example, Sens. Bob Menendez and Frank Lautenberg announced on Monday that NJ Transit would receive $36 million for the Pennsauken Transit Center, which will improve service for South Jersey transit riders by connecting the Atlantic City Rail Line, River Line light rail, and local buses. (NJ Transit also received badly needed funds for bus maintenance and pedestrian safety improvements around Newark Penn Station.)
But the state’s planned NJ Transit cuts mean the Atlantic City Rail Line will lose two weekday and four weekend trains, the River Line will lose virtually all late-night service between Camden and Pennsauken, and local buses will run less often both on weekends and during the week.
Similarly, the Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) in Albany, New York received $3.5 million in stimulus funds for bus replacements and bus rapid transit implementation. BusPlus, CDTA’s bus rapid transit program which includes 15 new BRT buses, is supposed to roll out this spring, but the agency is currently $3 million short in operating funds. Also in the region, the federal goverment awarded stimulus funds for the Second Avenue Subway, LIRR East Side Access, and clean buses for Long Island Bus — while New York transit riders brace for big cuts to subway, LIRR, and LI Bus service.
Transit advocates across the country continue to look to Congress for emergency transit operating assistance through another stimulus bill. Even though Senate Democrats have hinted at the possibility of including transportation aid in subsequent “jobs bill” legislation, the slow progress on the first $15B jobs bill is a sign that more federal help may not come fast enough for the nation’s transit riders.
Image: From NJ Transit Pennsauken Transit Center Environmental Assessment.
As NJ Transit announced last week, transit riders are facing a 25% fare increase and service cuts on every train line and on buses across the state. These measures are so drastic because Gov. Christie slashed state support for NJ Transit this year and plans to cut more next year, though he has promised not to increase the state gas tax or tolls. New Jersey’s gas tax has not been increased since 1988.
These measures will have devastating economic and environmental impacts for the state. Some riders will choose to switch from transit to driving, worsening traffic congestion and putting more wear and tear on state roads. Others will suffer through higher costs and longer, more arduous commutes. Now New Jersey residents can tell Gov. Christie and the Legislature that this is bad policy by sending letters through TSTC’s website at www.tstc.org/njtransit/.
Background
Transit fares will increase across the board by about 25%, and off-peak round trip train tickets will be eliminated. For example, for bus riders traveling from Camden to Moorestown, a one-way trip will go from $2.80 to $3.50, while a monthly pass will go from $75 to $94. The cost of a train from Rahway to New York would go from $7 to $8.75 for a one-way ticket, $12.25 to $17.50 for a round trip, and $198 to $248 for a monthly pass.
Buses and trains will run less frequently, meaning customers on many routes will have waits of an additional 5-15 minutes or more.
Public hearings on these changes have been scheduled for March 25 and 26, with two additional “information sessions” on the 27th. For details on how specific bus and train routes will be affected, visit NJ Transit’s website.
 The Greenway's request would add off-road trail in an area that is unsafe for cyclists. Two important New Jersey events that were snowed out last month have been rescheduled for the coming weeks.
New Jersey Future’s 2010 Redevelopment Forum — one of the state’s largest events for municipalities, developers, and advocates interested in smart growth — will now be March 19 from 8am to 3:45pm at the Hyatt Hotel in New Brunswick. The event’s keynote speaker is Shelly Poticha, the Senior Advisor for Sustainable Housing and Communities at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, who will discuss the department’s new “livable communities” initiatives. Workshop topics range from green building design to New Jersey’s new complete streets law and the Transportation Trust Fund. Learn more and register for the event at NJ Future’s website.
Also, a public hearing which the East Coast Greenway sees as an opportunity to bridge a critical gap in the Maine-to-Florida off-road trail has been rescheduled for March 24 from 6pm to 8pm at Secaucus Town Hall (1203 Paterson Plank Rd). NJ Transit is building 2 new rail bridges across the Hackensack River, near the existing Portal Bridge. Because the project impacts Hudson County parkland, NJ Transit must return parkland to the county. This parkland could take the form of 2 miles of Greenway trail (pictured at right) which will bring the Greenway off-road from Belleville Turnpike in Kearny to West Side Avenue in Jersey City. But officials from Hudson County and the state Department of Environmental Protection need to hear that there is public support for this project.
Comments can also be sent by mail by April 7 to Laurie Cotter, Deputy County Administrator, 567 Pavonia Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07305 with a copy to New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Green Acres Program, Bureau of Legal Services and Stewardship, P.O. Box 412, Trenton, NJ 08625-0412. For more details, see MTR’s earlier coverage.
One of the Obama administration’s key transportation initiatives has been connecting land use and transportation planning to foster walkable communities instead of sprawl. Recent momentum for the effort has come from both Congress and the White House. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) has introduced the House version of Senator Dodd (D-CT)’s Livable Communities Act, while Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) has introduced a similar bill to create an Office of Livability in USDOT and provide similar competitive grants to help regions develop integrated transportation plans. Both would help break down the silos which federal transportation and housing policy traditionally operate in.
The Livable Communities Act (S.1619) would:
- Establish the office of Sustainable Housing and Communities in the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
- Authorize two competitive grant programs ($400M for planning and $3.75B for implementation)
The Enhancing Livability for All Americans Act (H.R.4287) introduced by Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN):
- Establish Office of Livability in DOT
- Authorize $750M/yr for two competitive grant programs (one for planning and one for implementation)
In the 2010 budget, Congress set aside $150M to HUD to help improve regional planning efforts that integrate housing and transportation decisions. Of that total, $100M will be available for regional integrated planning initiatives through the new Sustainable Communities Planning Grant Program.
Who can apply and what types of plans are eligible for the grant? Before setting the grant rules and guidelines, HUD wants to hear from you. The agency is currently seeking input from the public, including State and local governments, regional bodies, community development entities, and a broad range of other stakeholders on how the Program should be structured in order to have the most meaningful impact on sustainable regional planning.
Connecticut residents will have an opportunity to give their feedback in person today from 1pm to 3:45pm in a Hartford listening session hosted by HUD Deputy Secretary Ron Sims, Senator Chris Dodd and Congressman John Larson.
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Masthead Mobilizing the Region is published by the staff of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.
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