Your weekly guide to heroic and villainous actions in Tri-State transportation and development.
Winners
Noah Kazis—After years of hard-nosed reporting at Streetsblog, Noah Kazis is moving up to New Haven. Thanks for all your hard work, Noah!
14 Meadowlands-area mayors—Just as a weekday event at MetLife Stadium thrust the Meadowlands into gridlock, 14 area mayors have joined together and called for the completion of a traffic study for the American Dream Meadowlands, a megamall project that sits next to the facility (existing studies for the project are inadequate).
MTA bus riders—Shortly after the MTA announced the millionth text message query of Bus Time—its real-time bus tracking system—the Advance printed a long story detailing its positive reception on Staten Island, where the service is most fully implemented. “It certainly can make [commuters’] daily grind a bit easier,” the Advance editorial board wrote of the technology yesterday.
Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner—In response to Cuomo administration estimates of $8-$14 tolls for the new Tappan Zee Bridge, Feiner has raised issues about the projected toll hike’s impact on New Yorkers, especially those living on fixed incomes.
Bristol, Connecticut and Renaissance Downtowns—Last weekend in Bristol, the streets buzzed with activity during the second annual Pop Up Piazza event, in a sign of the town’s movement towards a more vital downtown core. The proceedings resulted from a coordinated effort of Bristol Rising, Renaissance Downtowns, the Bristol Historical Society, the City of Bristol, and other local groups.
Losers
New Jersey Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon—After New Jersey recertified its red light camera program, which had been briefly suspended after concerns about yellow light timing, Assemblyman O’Scanlon called in an out-of-state consultant to test light timing. If only New Jersey legislators spent this much energy thinking about sustainably funding the state’s transportation system.
New York State—As Supervisor Feiner notes, the Cuomo administration has raised the possibility of $14 tolls on the new Tappan Zee Bridge without providing an adequate transit alternative—lacking this, commuters could be forced to spend more of their hard-earned money crossing the bridge.
Norwalk Traffic Commission—Despite local support for a road diet and buffered, vehicle-free “safety lanes” on the four-lane Calf Pasture Beach Road, Norwalk, Connecticut’s Traffic Commission has decided to paint sharrows instead. Advocates say this won’t address the need for more pedestrian space or do nearly enough to reduce excessive speeds on the road, which passes through residential neighborhoods, an elementary school, and parks and beaches.
