A weekly roundup of good deeds, missteps, heroic feats and epic failures in the tri-state region and beyond.
WINNERS
Connecticut Department of Transportation — The CTfastrak bus rapid transit system will expand to East Hartford and Manchester by the summer of 2016.
New York City Council — The City Council wants to double the amount the mayor plans to spend on the Vision Zero Great Streets initiative.
U.S. Representative David Price — Last week, Congressman Price (D-NC) helped to defeat a push for even steeper Amtrak cuts, and this week, the House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee’s top Democrat demanded a recorded vote on, and defeated, an amendment which would have eliminated federal funding for pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure.
New York State Senator John DeFrancisco — Senator DeFrancisco is the first member of the majority party to introduce a bill aimed at filling the gap in the Statewide Transit Capital Plan.
The MTA — The authority will alter destination signage on the front of Select Bus Service vehicles to make it easier for passengers to distinguish the pay-before-boarding buses from local buses.
Glastonbury CT & Lambertville NJ — Two towns in the region received the League of American Bicyclists’ “Bicycle Friendly Community” distinction this week.
LOSERS
MTA riders — The MTA still doesn’t have a fully-funded 2015-2019 capital program, and the New York State legislative session ends next week.
General Electric, Aetna and Travelers — In response to corporate tax hikes, the companies have threatened to leave Connecticut — which has the nation’s second-lowest corporate tax rate.
New Jersey — The Garden State’s economic growth rate is among the worst in the nation.
US cities that aren’t Minneapolis — Of the world’s 20 most bicycle-friendly cities, only one is in the United States.
Subway rats — The MTA is installing heavy duty door sweeps to keep rats out of trash rooms. Sorry, rats.
