Click to download the draft TIP.
Last month, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council released a draft of its 2011-15 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The document compiles all transportation projects in NYC, Long Island, and the lower Hudson Valley that receive federal money. (It is available for download and as a Google Map.)
Taken as a whole, the document underscores the large infrastructure needs in the region. Most of NYSDOT’s spending is going toward large repair and maintenance projects such as the troubled I-287 reconstruction and a rebuild of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. It also lists billions of dollars’ worth of bus, subway, and commuter rail projects planned as part of the MTA’s capital program, which is unfunded starting next year.
It’s not clear whether NYSDOT is increasing resources to deal with pedestrian safety on Long Island, which has gained increasing attention in recent months. According to the TIP, the State DOT will continue its Local Safe Streets and Traffic Calming municipal grant program, but with less funding than in prior years. Between fiscal years 2011 and 2015, it will average $1 million annually; the program had been funded at $2.7 million in earlier years, and was funded at $1.2 million last year. The TIP also includes a $7.6 million “smart transportation initiative project to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety on various state roads in Nassau & Suffolk Counties” beginning in 2014. Agency officials said this program could be used to fix dangerous intersections like on Hempstead Turnpike and Route 25/25A in Smithtown, but could not comment as to why the money would not be available sooner.
Many of the pedestrian safety projects on the island appear to be driven at the local level, such as three traffic calming projects in Brookhaven, which passed a local complete streets policy last year.
The TIP includes several parts of NYSDOT’s “Green Route 347″ plan, a road widening which the department scaled back and reimagined with complete streets elements after extensive consultation with local residents and advocacy groups. It also includes a widening of Route 112 from two to five lanes in Brookhaven, but this is not programmed until after 2015, meaning it isn’t set in stone. The TIP also includes $40.7 million for the LITRIM truck-to-rail transfer center, planned for Brentwood, that will help green the island’s freight system by moving more freight to rail.
The project list for New York City reflects the city’s continued commitment to making it safer to walk and bike and easier to take transit. Featured bike and pedestrian projects include the East River Greenway, further improvements to the Bronx Hub and Roberto Clemente Plaza, permanent designs for the pedestrian plazas at Times and Herald Squares, as well as line items for citywide pedestrian and cycling network improvements. The document also includes funding for Select Bus routes on 34th Street, Hylan Blvd, and a yet-to-be-determined third route, and a study of transportation connections to LaGuardia Airport.
The Hudson Valley’s project list (which includes Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam Counties) consists almost entirely of repair and maintenance projects, along with some bikeway and trail extensions and a couple of minor road widenings (such as Route 59 near Airmont Road in Airmont and Ramapo).
NYMTC is accepting comments on the TIP through tomorrow, July 8 via e-mail to David Drits, at ddrits@dot.state.ny.us.
