New Jersey’s $271M Bill for Canceling ARC Arrives

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The federal government wants its money back from New Jersey for the cancellation of the Access to the Region’s Core rail project. The day before Thanksgiving, the Federal Transit Administration sent NJ Transit a letter demanding repayment, within 30 days, of the $271 million in federal funds spent on the project.

The federal agency says it will charge interest on this claim if repayment is not made in time, may report the claim to credit and bond rating agencies, ask the Department of Justice to act as a collection agent, and as a last resort will garnish New Jersey’s future federal transportation funds.

[UPDATE: The Christie administration has hired Washington, D.C.-based law firm Patton Boggs to contest the bill.]

Full letter below (highlights added by TSTC):

Click to view the second page.

November 30th, 2010 | Category: Federal Policy, NJ Transit | 7 comments

Congress Must Stop the Transit Tax Hike

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Visit tstc.org/notransittax/ or click here to take action.

People who rely on transit to get to work could be paying hundreds of dollars more in taxes every year unless Congress takes action during the current “lame duck” session, stepping in before a key commuter benefit provision expires on January 1, 2011.

Currently, commuters [...]

November 29th, 2010 | Category: Federal Policy | 5 comments

What We’re Thankful For in 2010

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We are also thankful none of our families will be trotting out this "festive" meat loaf train, from the 1960s cookbook "100 Ways to Be Original in All Your Cooking."

There are plenty of bright spots to think over while tucking into the stuffing and mashed potatoes this year:

Complete streets sweeping [...]

November 24th, 2010 | Category: Connecticut, Federal Policy, New Jersey, New York | 5 comments

As She Walks Out the Door, Gov. Rell Makes it Safer to Walk Down the Street

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"As a state, we have made some progress in changing priorities to better incorporate and respond to the needs of pedestrians and cyclists," Gov. Rell said at a press conference on Friday. "However, the time has come to step up the pace."

On Friday, outgoing Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell announced significant changes [...]

November 23rd, 2010 | Category: Bike/Pedestrian, ConnDOT | 6 comments

NYSDOT Making Strides on Safe Seniors Program in Smithtown

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By chance, MTR passed through Main Street in Smithtown last week and was greeted with a welcome surprise — safety improvements being undertaken as part of NYSDOT’s Safe Seniors pilot program are underway.

New pedestrian amenities being installed on Main Street in Smithtown.

A fence, both decorative and utilitarian, has been installed to prevent [...]

November 22nd, 2010 | Category: Bike/Pedestrian, Long Island, NYSDOT | 10 comments

Region’s First Bus Lane Cameras Coming to NYC

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An M15 Select bus makes its way up First Avenue. Camera enforcement will be rolled out on the route this Monday.

A month into the debut of New York City’s Select Bus Service on First and Second Avenues, the route has been a clear success, data released yesterday by city and MTA officials shows. [...]

November 19th, 2010 | Category: MTA, New York City | 3 comments

NY Lt. Governor: State Needs $1.3B/Year for Transportation

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A new report from New York’s outgoing lieutenant governor Richard Ravitch — previous architect of transportation rescue plans — offers a blueprint for the state to avoid a future with a diminished transportation network.

The report’s magic number is $1.3 billion a year in dedicated revenue: $700 million/year to pay for the unfunded part [...]

November 18th, 2010 | Category: New York | New York | .3B/Year for Transportation">2 comments

Kingston “Goes Big” for Complete Streets

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In the Hudson Valley last Tuesday night, the Kingston Common Council passed a Complete Streets resolution which makes it “a City goal to foster transportation choices by developing a Complete Streets program” and establishes an eleven-member advisory council that will make recommendations to the City on how to move forward. The evening was the [...]

November 17th, 2010 | Category: Complete Streets, Hudson Valley | 6 comments

Puzzling Omissions on a Reform Governor’s Transition Team

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New York Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo has been rolling out his transition teams over the past week, announcing the transportation team today. There are some puzzling omissions. As Andrea Bernstein at WNYC points out, there are virtually no representatives from the advocacy community. The full list, as announced in a press release, is below:

Kendra [...]

November 16th, 2010 | Category: New York | One comment

New Jersey’s Super Secret Capital Program

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Longtime MTR readers may have wondered where Tri-State’s annual analysis of New Jersey’s capital plan is. Typically, we’ve produced a detailed analysis of the capital plan in the late spring or early summer. In April of this year we published a brief “preview” of the 2011 capital plan, in anticipation of a more thorough [...]

November 16th, 2010 | Category: NJ Transit, NJDOT | One comment
 
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