Happy New Year!
Over the holidays, we here at Tri-State took a moment to reflect on this past year of advocacy for equitable mobility throughout our region. These milestones are possible because of the cooperation and collaboration of our many partners; the policymakers, agency staff, fellow advocates, and community members we’ve worked with over the years. So much of Tri-State’s work depends on partnerships with dedicated, determined advocates who share our goals and ideals.
None of these achievements would be possible without our supporters. We are thankful for the foundations and individuals who support TSTC. We literally couldn’t do our work without you. This new year, will you help us continue our top-notch advocacy with a small donation?
Thank you, and best wishes for 2022.
Renae Reynolds
Executive Director
Here are a few highlights from 2021
Alfresco NYC! The last year has reshaped our streets from increased bike traffic to curbside dining. In the midst of the pandemic, restaurants, shops, and communities found themselves craving outdoor spaces to meet, socialize, recreate, and dine together. Cities have transformed parking spaces to social spaces for people to enjoy via open streets and open restaurants. This past summer, in a celebration of reimagining our streetscape, we alongside our partners at Design Trust for Public Space, and Regional Plan Association launched the Alfresco NYC coalition and the Alfresco Awards to recognize the city’s best outdoor dining spaces and open streets that innovating in design, re-imaged our streets, and built partnerships with their communities. Alfresco NYC and The 2021 Alfresco Award was made possible by New York Community Trust and the generosity of our donors. We look forward to collaborating with the city and communities to transition open streets and open restaurants to a permanent, equitable, and sustainable staple of New York City.
Safe Passing for All. After nearly a decade of advocacy, New Jersey finally passed the Safe Passing Bill joining 42 other states that already have protections for people walking, bicycling, and rolling on the streets. Governor Murphy signed this comprehensive bill into law on August 5th and it goes into effect in spring 2022. New Jersey now has the most comprehensive law in the county.
Active Transportation Network in NJ. Trails are an essential part of our active transportation network, providing recreational opportunities as well as safe transportation, connection to the outdoors and space that’s been – this past year NJ held its Inaugural Trails & Greenways Summit which was co-hosted by NJDEP and NJDOT. This event also spurred the launch of the New Jersey Trails Action Network!
Progress continues on expanding the Circuit Trails network. There were a number of notable Circuit Trail ribbon cuttings on the New Jersey side of the Delaware including: the Delaware River Heritage Trail (Route 130 Bypass), Scudder Falls Shared-Use Path, and Cramer Hill Waterfront Park. Another part of the DRHT in Trenton was added to the NJ TIP and Camden is FINALLY getting an Active Transportation Plan!
Complete Streets in NJ turns 10! Celebrating 10 years of complete streets – we’ve come a long way from the 2009 Complete Streets policy to this Complete & Green Streets Model Policy.
Restarting NYC Borough Bus Network Redesigns. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority restarted its dormant borough bus network redesigns this fall, 17 months after the pandemic forced the project to be paused. Redesigning the bus networks in each of New York City’s five boroughs is a crucial win for the Bus Turnaround Coalition, which was formed in response to rapidly deteriorating bus service and plummeting ridership.
Emergency Transit Funding. Successfully secured transit relief funds totaling more than $20 billion dollars for the Tri-State region across the three COVID relief acts ensuring the ability of transit agencies across the region, including the MTA and NJ Transit, to remain operational during the worst funding crises in their histories.
Surge of Federal Infrastructure Funding. The largest amount of funds for transit, rail, active transportation capital projects, as well as safe streets, in the last century has been secured in the surface authorization act as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. These funds will go towards desperately needed infrastructure projects such as the Gateway Project; electrification of bus fleets across the region; and unprecedented funding for Vision Zero programs across the region.
Vision Zero New Jersey Alliance turned 1! The Alliance launched on the World Day of Remembrance in 2020, since then has grown to 20 organizations that have worked on raising awareness, educating, and pushing for vision zero at the local, state, and federal levels.
New Busways in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. In 2021, the New York City Department of Transportation successfully implemented new busways on 181st Street in Manhattan, Jay Street in Brooklyn, and Jamaica Avenue and Archer Avenue in Queens. Dedicated bus lanes and busways are crucial for speeding up bus service, improving transit reliability, and making streets safer for pedestrians.
Electric Buses. NJT is moving forward with its statutory requirement to transition to an all electric bus fleet with the purchase of its first 8 EV buses. However, there’s still much more that needs to be done. With 2,221 buses in its fleet and over 870 bus lines, funding needs to be identified and a plan in place.
Bus Riders’ Bill of Rights. S3485/A5024 released in October 2020, the Bus Rider Bill of Rights was created with input from NJ bus riders and subsequently drafted as legislation in the 2020-2021 legislative session
NJ Transportation Investment Map. TSTC has put together a collection of transportation and equity projects throughout New Jersey that can be accomplished if additional funding was available. These projects include NJ Transit investments, converting school bus fleets to electric, building charging infrastructure, completing walking and bike trails, and much more. While many of the projects listed on the map derive from previous plans and studies or from partner organizations, there is a public submission portal where anyone can submit an idea or project they would like to see fulfilled in their neighborhood, county, or state.
