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TZB Transit Task Force Recommends New Modern, Faster Bus System in I-287 Corridor

The New NY Bridge Mass Transit Task Force (of which Tri-State is a member) issued its Final Transit Recommendations today. The 119-page report details transit improvements along the Tappan Zee Bridge/I-287 corridor in Rockland and Westchester Counties. The recommendations propose sleeker, new buses with WiFi technology; bus stops transformed from a patch of grass or pavement to a station with pre-board fare collection, seating, shelter, and real-time bus information; and new technology improvements that will give buses lead time at intersections and improve travel flow on I-287. With the implementation of these recommendations by Governor Cuomo and the New York State Thruway Authority, transit between these two counties can be transformed from an experience that is tolerated, to an experience that is preferred. And, the Hudson Valley will have secured a big win.

This is great progress from a task force of 31 members who came to the table with varying knowledge about transit options and the new bridge project. Over the year, task force members were supported by a stellar team of staff members who shared technical and data analysis and expertise to guide discussions.

The recommendations include several features of bus rapid transit (BRT) systems like modern, branded buses, new bus stations and traffic signal priority technology. But one key amenity is missing: dedicated bus lanes that run the lengths of the proposed routes. While buses will travel in dedicated lanes on the 3.1-mile bridge span, they will then merge into unpredictable travel patterns beyond the bridge. For every case that can be made that dedicated bus lanes are not a defining characteristic of BRT, there is a case to be made that they are indeed essential to BRT — and Tri-State sides with the latter. We do not believe this proposal constitutes full BRT. Yet, we fully support the recommendations because they propose expanded and improved transit in the corridor, which we have consistently called for in the new bridge project.

A dedicated bus lane could be explored as part of the Corridor Preservation Study in the short term and be an added amenity to this new system, in the medium term, within the next 15 years.

Although the MTTF has convened for the last time, there remains work to be done. In order to advance the MTTF recommendations, the following steps must be taken:

  • The identification of responsible parties and funding sources to implement the recommendations
  • The creation of a toll/finance task force that addresses this transit proposal in tandem with proposed bridge tolls
  • The creation of an oversight committee to convene quarterly to monitor implementation
  • Implementation timeline for short-term transit proposal

Tri-State thanks Governor Cuomo, MTTF co-chairs NYS Department of Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald, NYS Thruway Authority Executive Director Thomas Madison, the New NY Bridge project team, ARUP, and members of the MTTF for their efforts to improve transit in the Tappan Zee Bridge/I-287 corridor.

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Jared
10 years ago

Is there absolutely no mention of the existing cross-Hudson ferry service at Haverstraw-Ossining? Why not boost ferry capacity/service? There is a petition calling for increased ferry service, but for some reason, ferries get ignored by NYS: http://www.change.org/petitions/boost-the-economy-expand-the-ferry

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[…] TZB Transit Task Force Releases Report; Funding and Cost Still Unknown (WNYC, LoHud, MTR) […]

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[…] bus lane is a critical, defining characteristic of a Bus Rapid Transit system,” said Tri-State Transportation Campaign executive director Veronica Vanterpool, who held out hope for more bus lanes after 2018. “We […]

Rob
Rob
10 years ago

Please ask for the Blue Route to Yonkers to end in Getty Square, Yonkers inter-modal hub!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getty_Square_(Yonkers)

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[…] Authority Board of Directors held its first meeting since the New NY Bridge Mass Transit Task Force issued its final recommendations, which include a BRT-like system that will enhance bus service between Rockland and Westchester […]

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[…] forward, a proposed enhanced bus system within the Tappan Zee Bridge corridor, as well as extending the third track from Crestwood to North […]

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[…] and in the I-287 Corridor, however, would be for the State and Thruway Authority to implement the Governor’s Mass Transit Task Force recommendations and analyze the implementation of dedicated bus lanes running the lengths of the proposed […]

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[…] good places to ramp up investments would be full-fledged BRT in the tri-state region (along the Tappan Zee Bridge corridor, in New York City, in Bergen County, New Jersey and in Suffolk County on Long Island), the existing […]

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[…] Commuters using the Pascack Valley and Port Jervis lines from Rockland and Orange Counties into New Jersey (and vice versa) should benefit from investments to track, viaducts, bridges and station rehabilitations at Spring Valley, Middletown and Harriman. It is unclear if such investments on the Pascack Valley Line capture specific infrastructure improvements, such as full double-tracking and passing sidings, recommended by the Mass transit Task Force in its final report. […]

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[…] Thruway leadership must publicly support and see to the implementation of the bus system recommended by the Governor’s Mass Transit Task Force. With a frame work already in place and bus lanes […]

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[…] plan for new Tappan Zee Bridge proposed — After a year of meetings, the Tappan Zee Bridge Mass Transit Task Force proposed seven new bus routes in a new branded, modern, efficient bus system serving Rockland and Westchester Counties. The state […]

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[…] working on the much-anticipated Woodhaven Boulevard BRT line. New York State officials leading the Tappan Zee Bridge BRT initiative, as well as mayors from Nyack and White Plains, New York also joined the […]

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[…] to the doggedness of TSTC’s outgoing Executive Director Veronica Vanterpool) in 2012, and it resulted in a 2014 report which recommended an enhanced-but-not-quite-true-BRT bus service. Included in […]

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