 Click to download flyer. On September 21, the New York State Transportation Equity Alliance (NYSTEA) will hold a forum in Albany entitled: “Fighting for Greater Transportation Equity in New York State.” The forum will address New York State’s transportation crisis — its eroding infrastructure and struggling transit systems — and what advocates can do about it.
Topics will include state and federal issues and policy opportunities including: President Obama’s recently announced $50 billion infrastructure initiative; New York State legislation initiatives, such as Complete Streets and the recently-passed infrastructure bill; as well as recent impacts of the financial crisis on the Capital District transportation system.
The goal of the meeting is to build and strengthen a statewide coalition that fights for a more sustainable, balanced and equitable transportation system in New York.
The event is co-hosted by Capital Region Transit Advocates and will be held at the Albany Public Library, Main Branch Auditorium at 161 Washington Avenue. Light refreshments will be served. Please help to distribute this information using this flyer. For more information, please contact either Tri-State’s Nadine Lemmon, nadine@tstc.org, (917) 767-7698, or Leah Golby of CRTA at leah.golby@gmail.com, (518) 438-1244. RSVP appreciated, but not required. Tri-State Transportation Campaign is a steering committee member of NYSTEA.
Public hearings on planned MTA fare hikes, which now seem as regular an occurrence as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade or Fleet Week, begin Monday. The fare proposals, which can be viewed on the MTA’s website, will reduce the “bonus” on pay-per-ride MetroCards and increase the price of unlimited MetroCards, LIRR and Metro-North fares, and tolls on MTA bridges and tunnels. Use of “unlimited” MetroCards may also be capped; for example, under one proposal a 30-day MetroCard could be used for no more than 90 trips (transfers would not count).
The fare hike may be the least of Long Island Bus riders’ concerns. Another annual ritual, the fight between Nassau County and the MTA over how much funding each should provide for LI Bus, has escalated to dangerous levels. The MTA has said it may pull all of its funding to LI Bus, decimating the system. This morning, Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano called for the next governor to fire MTA CEO Jay Walder. Tri-State has said that major changes to the LI Bus funding structure should wait for the results of an MTA regional bus study that is part of the agency’s 2010-14 capital program.
This latest fare hike was planned as part of the 2009 funding package that included the regional payroll tax and was supposed to put the MTA on stable financial footing. But, as TSTC’s Veronica Vanterpool pointed out while testifying before the MTA board in July, circumstances have changed since then. State officials took $143 million in statutorily dedicated transit funds for the budget, and the payroll tax has brought in much less than predicted. The result was the unexpected service cuts put into effect earlier this year.
At the July meeting, TSTC’s Vanterpool said it was time to reconsider measures like congestion pricing or East River bridge tolls, calling it “inequitable to keep asking transit riders to contribute more to the system while drivers, who reap the congestion-busting benefits of our transit system, can still travel into the densest city in America for free.”
Pointing to the state’s theft of transit funds and the lack of solutions from city, state, and federal politicians, she told attendees that:
You can’t just blame the MTA. Blame Albany, blame the City of New York, blame Congress for not passing a $2 billion dollar emergency transit funding package. Elected officials who simply point fingers at the MTA are dodging their responsibility to ensure our region’s transit service remains safe, affordable, and reliable. Voters angry about the recent service cuts … should ask candidates how they plan on dealing with the MTA’s financial crisis.
After the jump, find times and dates, locations, and more information about the public hearings. » Continue reading…
The Smart Growth Public Infrastructure Priority Act (A8011B/S5560B), which directs New York state agencies to make their infrastructure spending decisions in accordance with smart growth principles, was signed into law by Gov. Paterson on Monday.
The law was a priority for Vision Long Island, Empire State Future, TSTC, and other transportation and planning groups, and its passage was hailed by advocates. “The Public Infrastructure Priority Act’s signing into law is a huge step to stopping costly sprawl at its source,” Empire State Future executive director Peter Fleisher said in a statement. Eric Alexander of Vision LI said that “this legislation will help prioritize infrastructure investments for our downtowns while limiting NYS subsidized sprawl on open space.”
As Streetsblog’s Noah Kazis noted earlier this summer, the new law is a major policy statement and can be a powerful tool for getting agencies on the same page, as shown by NJ’s experience under similar laws:
In areas designated for growth, said [NJ Future's Jay] Corbalis, the state’s Board of Public Utilities will help finance new infrastructure costs for developers; outside, they’re on their own. When plans for a new light rail line from Philadelphia were proposed, he continued, three different routes were considered. One passed through existing town centers while the others ran through greenfields. A report from the state’s planning commission concluded that only the first complied with the state’s smart growth plan, and it [was selected]. “There could be hundreds of examples like that,” said Corbalis.
But Kazis concludes that the impact will depend on how the bill is implemented by state agencies — so watch for the tone set by New York’s next governor and agency heads.
Whether it’s how transit is funded, how streets are designed, or how traffic safety is enforced, elected officials play a key role in setting transportation policy, one which is larger than many members of the public realize. Ahead of this year’s New York state elections, TSTC and Transportation Alternatives are organizing two initiatives to get candidates on the record.
 (Click to visit.) The first is the New York Transportation Survey, an online database of answers to a transportation survey sent to gubernatorial and legislative candidates in the downstate region. Survey questions covered traffic safety and enforcement; truck traffic; and funding for transit, bike and pedestrian projects, and road and bridge repair. Results from candidates running in city races are now online. (More results from city candidates, and all survey responses from outside the city, will be posted later this month.)
The second is a series of candidate forums, focused on transportation, occuring throughout the region. Transportation Alternatives has organized the first three, in key State Senate races in NYC ahead of the primary elections.
Tonight, State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada’s challengers Gustavo Rivera and Dan Padernacht stand on the issues. Senator Espada reportedly won’t be there. Last year, Sen. Espada was one of four state senators that led opposition to tolling the East and Harlem River bridges in order to fund transit, though he later changed his mind. The debate runs from 7-9 pm at the Fordham Evangelical Lutheran Church on 2430 Walton Ave. in the Bronx; Picture the Homeless is co-hosting and the Bronx News Network will moderate.
Tomorrow, September 2, Sen. Shirley Huntley and challenger Lynn Nunes will talk it out from 7-9 pm at the Fairfield Pavilion on 133-10 101st Avenue in Richmond Hill, Queens. The debate is moderated by Clare Trapasso of the NY Daily News.
Finally, next Tuesday, September 7, Manhattanites will have a chance to hear from the challengers for Sen. Eric Schneiderman’s to-be-vacant seat in the 31st District: Confirmed attendees include Assemblymember Adriano Espaillat, Mark Levine, and Miosotis Munoz. 7-9 pm at the Armory Foundation, 216 Fort Washington Avenue (between 168th & 169th Streets). Assm. Espaillat supported New York City’s congestion pricing plan in 2008, but opposed tolling the East and Harlem River bridges in 2009. WE ACT for Environmental Justice and the Upper West Side Renaissance will co-host; West Side Spirit reporter Dan Rivoli and Columbia professor David King will moderate.
 Robbinsville officials blocked access to a Turnpike construction site in protest of the state's broken reforestation promise. The NJ municipalities of East Windsor, Hamilton and Robbinsville have filed suit against the State of New Jersey for the return of funds that were supposed to be used to replace trees destroyed by NJ Turnpike construction.
According to reports, $15 million set aside for replacing 268 acres of lost tree cover has been diverted by the state Dept. of Environmental Protection to keep state parks open instead. Another $1.6 million that was to be used along the Garden State Parkway widening project has also been diverted. In total, the Turnpike project involves clearing 449 acres of trees in seven towns. $13 million remains for reforestation, an amount the municipalities claim is far too small to cover the losses. (Reforesting one acre costs $61,200, according to the reforestation plan the NJ Turnpike Authority submitted to DEP.)
The replanting funds were among the measures promised to the municipalities in exchange for land to accommodate the massive widening of the NJ Turnpike, which will add 170 new lane miles to the roadway from interchange to 6 to 9. The redirection of funds clearly violates the spirit of the No Net Loss Reforestation Act, which says that trees removed from state land during construction should be replaced as close as possible to the original site. Whether it violates the letter of the law should be determined by the lawsuit.
Town officials now regret transferring the land needed for the widening. “After this episode, what mayor in his right mind would ever sign an agreement with the State or the Turnpike?” Robbinsville Mayor Dave Fried wrote in Politicker NJ. Aside from the lawsuit, the reallocation has prompted direct action by Mayor Fried (see picture), and has legislators weighing in and asking the Governor to intervene on behalf of the aggrieved municipalities.
The broken promise is another sorry chapter in the history of the Turnpike widening project, which has been poorly justified and promises little but induced traffic and more sprawl. The trees would have offered noise and pollution mitigation along the widened sections of the Turnpike. The net loss of trees is a blow to local residents, and threatens to deepen the adverse effect of the widening on greenhouse gas emissions, making it all the more difficult for the state to meet goals mandated by the Global Warming Response Act.
A state judge will hear the case on October 1.
Photo: Times of Trenton.
The economic crisis has forced municipalities across the region to make painful service cuts, but when it comes to school bus reductions, there might be a silver lining. New Jersey schools are not required to provide buses for elementary and middle school students who live within two miles of school, or high schoolers within two-and-a-half miles, but most provided “courtesy busing” for these students anyway. After the recent round of crippling school budget cuts many districts eliminated this service, stoking parent anger. But this break in free school transportation could help communities across the state encourage healthy habits and healthy streets.
 Cuts to "courtesy busing" could get kids walking to school again -- but not if safe ways to get there are lacking. It’s no secret that childhood obesity is one of the most serious problems facing America today - 31% of NJ children under 17 are obese. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends at least 60 minutes of physical activity for children everyday — yet sadly, many children don’t even come close. A 2-mile walk or bike ride is absolutely manageable for most healthy kids and is a way to incorporate exercise into their daily routines. Recent studies show that students who walk to school have lower levels of stress and lower rates of obesity.
Parents in many school districts have organized volunteer “walking school buses” that provide adult supervision and safety in numbers for younger children. Municipalities, meanwhile, have a responsibility to take a good look at their roads and make needed improvements so that walking and biking to school is easy and safe.
If they do, they’ll see the benefits. Walkable, bike-friendly towns encourage interaction between residents, instilling a greater sense of community. Non-motorized traffic is also a great economic generator. An August 2008 Transportation Alternatives multi-city study found that traffic calming and reduced automobile traffic on streets increased property values between 10 and 30%. That and other studies found similar improvements in commercial tenant vacancy rates and retail sales.
Parents’ concerns about losing bus service are justified. But if schools, parents, and local governments work together, they could use this moment to teach kids self-reliance, bring back a sense of community, and encourage a return to healthy lifestyles.
Photo: Amanda Brown/Star-Ledger.
 After a fire crippled its switching system on Monday, the LIRR has operated partial service through the week. This week has been a sobering reminder of the age and poor condition of the public transportation system on which our region depends. On Monday, a small fire crippled the switching system of the LIRR, forcing cancellations on nearly all lines; full service has not yet been restored. On the same day, all rail service on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor – including NJ Transit and SEPTA (Southeast Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) – was suspended for the second time in less than two weeks due to electrical problems.
As Newsday explains, the reason the LIRR disruptions have continued for so long is that the railroad relies on infrastructure from 1913. Aaron Rutkoff at the Wall Street Journal is right to ask, “is the subway due for a LIRR-style meltdown?” given that much of the behind-the-scenes signals and switches date from the same time period.
It’s a similar story of old, neglected infrastructure on the Northeast Corridor, where NJ Transit riders have experienced delays nearly every week in July and August. Amtrak says the Boston-Washington corridor needs $8 billion in maintenance to bring it back to a state of good repair.
In some countries, common failures of the nation’s busiest rail corridor and largest commuter railroad would be unthinkable. But here, lawmakers at the federal, state and local level have failed to find sustainable funding solutions to the country and region’s growing transportation operating and capital needs. Congress continues to punt on federal transportation reauthorization that would boost funding for capital projects, and has taken no action on a proposed $2 billion emergency transit assistance bill as transit agencies here and across the country raise fares and cut service. Albany legislators have not dealt with transit funding issues since voting to take $143 million from the MTA to close the state’s budget gap last December.
Photo: DelMundo/NY Daily News.
Steven Higashide contributed to this story.
 Between 2006 and 2008, 636 pedestrians and cyclists were injured (in blue) or killed (in red) in the town of Islip. About half of the incidents took place on town-owned roads, which a new complete streets policy will cover. Click to view as a factsheet with more information. Last week, the Town of Islip in Suffolk County became the second municipality on Long Island to adopt a complete streets policy. The policy’s enactment, which came only weeks after the Town of Babylon passed its own policy, was spearheaded in a bipartisan effort by Supervisor Phil Nolan and Councilman Steve Flotteron.
“I am very pleased that our Town has taken the proper steps to implement Complete Streets throughout our communities in the future,” Supervisor Nolan told MTR. “Outdated roadways have become increasingly dangerous and it is important that when constructing a road, pedestrians and bicyclists are taken into account.”
The resolution will “establish and adopt a sustainable Complete Streets policy whereby all street projects… by the Town of Islip shall be designed and executed in a balanced, responsible and equitable way to accommodate and encourage travel by bicyclists, public transportation vehicles and their passengers, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities.” Just over fifty percent of pedestrian and cyclists injuries and fatalities in Islip occurred along town-owned roads between 2006 and 2008.
 New Yorkers can e-mail their legislators in support of a state complete streets bill at TSTC's website by clicking here or visiting tstc.org/saferstreetsnow. According to Councilman Flotteron, Islip’s complete streets effort aims to address this safety issue and to promote connectivity in and around the Town. “We want our town roads to be safe enough so that our residents can leave their car at home and walk or bicycle to our great downtowns,” he said. “Completing our streets allows us to do this while also enhancing our smart growth efforts and providing safe transportation choices for our constituents.”
While it’s heartening to see another municipality step up to address the epidemic of pedestrian and cyclist fatalities on Long Island’s roads, without the more comprehensive bill still sitting in the State Assembly, Islip residents will still be subject to unsafe conditions on county and state roads — including Sunrise Highway, the second most dangerous road in the region for pedestrians. Hopefully the Assembly hears the message from local towns and municipalities.
Images: TSTC.
 Police in Hillside, NJ conduct a "crosswalk sting," having a plainclothes officer cross the street to see whether drivers will yield. Fewer pedestrians and cyclists are dying on the Garden State’s roads, sidewalks and bicycle paths this year versus 2009, even as the number of drivers and passengers killed has more or less held steady.
According to NJ State Police year-to-date statewide fatal crash statistics through August 25, total fatalities are down to 351, an 8.1 percent decline from the 380 persons killed during the same period last year. (These 2010 statistics are preliminary and will likely be revised up, but not enough to significantly offset the decline.)
What’s most striking about the statistics is the victim classification break down. A 25 percent decline in bicycle and pedestrian fatalities makes up the entire year-to-date reduction in statewide traffic fatalities:
|
Through 8/25/2009 |
Through 8/25/2010 |
| Driver |
200 |
200 |
| Passenger |
64 |
64 |
| Pedalcyclist |
10 |
7 |
| Pedestrian |
106 |
80 |
| Total |
380 |
351 |
Obviously there isn’t enough data to show causality between the decline in fatalities and New Jersey’s recently passed law requiring drivers to “stop and stay stopped” for pedestrians in crosswalks, or the ensuing crackdown on motorists who fail to yield. But the numbers certainly help allay concerns that the law would increase pedestrian fatalities by emboldening people to – horror! – cross the street.
Photo: David Gard/NJ Local News Service.
During the 2010 Albany legislative season, transportation advocates put their weight behind six laws: four that dealt with enforcement and prosecution, one that established policy guidance on infrastructure spending, and one that would change the way that New York builds its roads. All four of the enforcement laws have been signed by the Governor. The infrastructure policy law was delivered to the governor on August 18 and is ready for his pen. Given Albany’s track record for passing less than 3% of laws introduced, this is a tremendous accomplishment. But the last, the “Complete Streets” law, is still stuck in the mire of Albany politics.
The four laws signed by Gov. Paterson were (original sponsors in parentheses):
 NYC can now legally use cameras to keep bus lanes clear, though only on five routes.
- Bus Cameras (Assm. Bing/Sen. Dilan, passed in budget): Allows NYC to use camera enforcement to ticket drivers illegally blocking bus lanes — but only on five routes.
- Elle’s Law (Assm. Kellner/Sen. Dilan): Suspends the license of drivers who cause serious physical injury to someone while committing a traffic violation.
- Hayley and Diego’s Law (Assm. Kavanagh/Sen. Squadron): Creates a careless driving charge for those who drive “without due care” and seriously injure or kill a “vulnerable road user,” including pedestrians, cyclists, and roadway workers requiring that they complete traffic safety courses and community service.
- Merrill’s Law (Assm. Paulin/Sen. Stewart-Cousins): Creates a traffic infraction for drivers that don’t pass bicyclists at a “safe distance.”
Bringing bus lane cameras to New York City should provide compelling evidence of their effectiveness, potentially opening the door to greater use of cameras in the future. The three traffic safety laws will give police and prosecutors new tools to deter careless drivers and protect potential victims. Currently, careless drivers who injure or kill typically receive nothing more than a traffic ticket because prosecutors have few alternatives other than negligent homicide. Between 1994 and 2008, that charge was filed just 29 times in New York. The three safety laws were all named after victims of dangerous driving—Merrill Cassell, Elle Vandenberghe, Hayley Ng, and Diego Martinez—leading one advocate to claim that “if you want to get something passed in Albany, name it after someone who has died.” (Vandenberghe was seriously injured but fortunately was not killed when a car illegally backed into her as she was crossing the street.)
The legislative process did force several compromises. For example, Elle’s Law originally would have created a felony vehicular assault charge. The bus camera bill, as introduced, would have allowed cameras on 50 miles of bus lanes.
Further Action Needed on Smart Growth, Complete Streets
New Yorkers can e-mail their legislators in support of a state complete streets bill at TSTC's website by clicking here or visiting tstc.org/saferstreetsnow. The Public Infrastructure Priority Act (A8011B/S5560B) wasn’t an easy sell either—versions of the law have been floating in Albany for at least the past 8 years. The law states that infrastructure spending must be “consistent with” smart growth principles, such as fix-it-first. As Streetsblog pointed out, whether this bill will be a success depends on how future state agency commissioners interpret the law. And that’s if Gov. Paterson signs the bill.
On the other hand, it’s pretty clear that the Complete Streets law would change the well-entrenched ways that roads have been designed for the past 50 years. In June, the bill’s sponsor, Assemblyman Gantt, attempted to gut the law by replacing the mandatory component with more amorphous wording; after substantial outcry, the law was re-amended. Of all the transportation bills in this legislative session, Complete Streets attracted the widest range of supporters—over 40 organizations have submitted letters in support, including health care, bicycling, aging, sustainable transportation, and environmental groups.
Yet the bill is stalled in the State Assembly. It will remain active until the end of the legislative season in December, and state legislators are set to return to Albany later this summer, giving them another opportunity to move the bill. If the legislature doesn’t act, perhaps advocates should consider renaming the law after the 336 pedestrians and cyclists that died on New York’s streets in 2008 (the most recent year state data was available).
Photos: Top – TSTC; Bottom – TSTC graphic using photo from AARP New York.
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Masthead Mobilizing the Region is published by the staff of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.
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