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Conservation Voters’ Long Island Agenda: Smart Growth, Smart Transportation

This week the New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV) released its Long Island Policy Agenda for 2008, a document with a heavy focus on smart growth and important transportation initiatives for Long Island. NYLCV called for “a new and more comprehensive growth strategy” that would be able to meet the needs of Long Islanders in years to come. Highlighting the dearth of affordable housing and increased costs due to traffic congestion, NYLCV urged Long Island’s local leadership to adopt smart growth strategies by:

  • Changing zoning regulations to allow for and encourage increased residential density and mixed-use, transit-oriented development.
  • Encouraging downtown development and revitalization.
  • Creating inclusionary zoning programs aimed at encouraging affordable housing.

By targeting Long Island’s land use patterns (the root cause of traffic), these strategies would be effective in reducing congestion and carbon emissions, and would also create pedestrian-friendly communities ideal for young adults and empty-nesters.

NYLCV also addressed the lack of non-automobile transportation options on Long Island, and urged policymakers to develop alternative transit options. They called for efforts focused on:

  • The development of the LIRR Third Track project which would significantly increase the capacity of the railroad.
  • Incorporating greater use of bike lanes and the encouragement of bicycling to LIRR stations.
  • Ensuring LI Bus has adequate funding for its capital and operating needs.

Long Island’s Transit Problems Can’t Be Solved by Grandstanding

As the NYLCV agenda points out, Long Island has pressing transit needs — particularly the completion of the Main Line Third Track. However, certain Nassau County elected officials aren’t answering the call. Assemblymembers Thomas McKevitt and Thomas Alfano, and Mayors Phil Guarnieri of Floral Park and Daniel Petruccio of New Hyde Park have opposed the Third Track since its inception, but seem more interested in political grandstanding than coming up with concrete solutions to Long Island’s congestion problems. While the LIRR’s initial public outreach on the Third Track project left much to be desired, President Helena Williams has made strides to address community concerns over the past year. It is time for project opponents to advocate feasible changes to the Third Track, not simply stand in the way of solutions. Long Island’s economic strength depends on an LIRR that takes full advantage of the future East Side Access connection to Grand Central, which will only occur if capacity on the Main Line is expanded.

Lawmakers also haven’t addressed LI Bus, which has been historically underfunded (see, for example, MTR #s 551, 434, and 267). Funding has in fact remained stagnant in the face of rising ridership. A recent Newsday article described how the overly complicated funding agreement between the MTA, the State, and the County is hindering LI Bus’s ability to provide sufficient service. These three entities must resolve this issue if they are to create a more effective suburban mass transit system that better complements the LIRR. The MTA has made it clear that it intends to eventually create a regional bus agency that integrates Long Island Bus, New York City Transit’s bus division, and MTA Bus — a laudable objective which could bring LI Bus out of its funding purgatory. However, the transit riders of Long Island also need a short-term solution, and should look to their elected officials to push for one.

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