Mobilizing the Region » Becca Homa

Transportation for America Releases Platform, Shifts Reauthorization Campaign Into High Gear

Becca Homa — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:16:08 +0000

During the drafting of federal stimulus legislation, Transportation for America — a national coalition of over 225 organizations including Tri-State — was an active voice for increasing transit funds in the package. With the bill signed into law, the coalition is now working to ensure that the next 5-year federal transportation bill tackles the problems facing our nations’ economy, climate, energy security and public health through innovative and sustainable transportation programs and funding. The current federal transportation bill will expire in September.

Dr. Georges Benjamin of the American Public Health Association (a T4 member organization) at the platform launch.

The February 26 launch of T4America’s campaign platform featured speakers Rep. Earl Blumenauer and Mayor John Robert Smith of Meridan, Mississippi and a panel of experts from the transportation, planning and public health fields.

Central to the platform [PDF] are these six points which encapsulate T4′s vision for the next federal transportation bill:

1. Establish accountability by establishing clear objectives that guide how transportation investments address issues like energy independence, equity, safety, climate change, and so on — and by tying federal funds to achievement of those objectives.

2. Invest to compete in the 21st century by modernizing aging infrastructure and making smart new investments in areas like high-speed rail and long-distance freight.

3. Invest for multiple payoffs in solving our energy, air quality, and climate challenges. By establishing clear objectives and expanding USDOT’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program, federal transportation policy can simultaneously reduce reliance on oil, lower greenhouse gas emissions and clean up polluting ports and trucks.

4. Reward and support smart local land use planning that reduces trip generation and encourages transit-oriented development by providing funding incentives and technical assistance.

5. Invest for public health and safety through complete streets and pedestrian and bicycle-friendly infrastructure that will increase road safety and encourage walking and cycling.

6. Find new ways to pay for transportation that do not reward the states whose populations drive the most, such as a tax on vehicle miles driven.

For updated news and action alerts, visit T4America’s Campaign Blog.

MTA Funding Debate Enters Crunch Time

Becca Homa — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 21:13:40 +0000

The MTA's "doomsday" budget eliminates the W train and includes many other service cuts.

Several key developments in the MTA’s funding saga have taken place in the past week:

On Tuesday, 10 members of the MTA Board traveled to Albany to lobby state lawmakers in support of the Ravitch Plan. While MTA chairman Dale Hemmerdinger felt the trip had heightened legislators’ awareness of the MTA’s plight, he questioned the trip’s efficacy in swaying lawmakers.

Almost certainly more persuasive was Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s decision to come out in favor of East and Harlem River bridge tolls on Wednesday, though his plan would set the tolls equivalent to the price of a subway fare, currently $2. His compromise was praised as a courageous and smart plan by the NY Times, Post, Daily News, and Staten Island Advance today.

However, several prominent Senate Democrats including Ruben Diaz Sr. and Finance Committee chairman Carl Kruger have come out in strong opposition to any legislation permitting tolling. State Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith issued his own statement today, which says that $2 bridge tolls are worth considering — but not if transit riders have to pay more than they would under a $5 toll. The State Legislature must pass a plan by March 25 for the MTA to avoid inflicting deep service cuts and large fare increases.

Straphangers and others still have time to make their voice heard. At the Campaign for New York’s Future website riders can send messages to their state elected officials. The MTA is accepting official public comments on its website until Monday, March 2. Also on Monday, the MTA will hold its first-ever public hearing in Orange County. The hearing begins at 6 pm and will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Newburgh (shuttle buses will run between the hotel and the Beacon train station). More information can be found here.

Terminal Velocity Quantifies NYC's Speeding Epidemic, Need for Speed Enforcement Cameras

Becca Homa — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:26:12 +0000

Transportation Alternatives’ recently-released report Terminal Velocity: New York City’s Speeding Epidemic documents drivers’ speeds at 13 of the most dangerous locations in the five boroughs. In one of the largest surveys of its kind conducted in the city, T.A. found that, citywide, 39% of motorists are driving above the 30 mph citywide speed limit (see chart for individual survey location data). Speeding causes over 2,300 motor vehicle crashes in the city every year. A drop in speed from 40 mph to 30 mph lowers the likelihood that a struck pedestrian will die from 70 to 40%.

Lax enforcement of moving vehicles and streets designed for higher speeds make many NYC streets dangerous and unfriendly to pedestrians. NYCDOT’s aggressive pursuit of traffic calming under Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan has helped, but the city could do more if the State Legislature allowed it to install speed enforcement cameras. Washington D.C.’s installation of speed cameras helped lower traffic fatalities in the city by 30% and reduced the average speed by 8 mph, according to Transportation Alternatives. In Great Britain, areas where cameras were installed saw reductions in death and serious injuries in automobile accidents of 35%.

While NYCDOT and the NYPD both support efforts to install speed cameras, legislation has been stymied in Albany. A 2004 bill allowing NYC to install cameras died in the Assembly Transportation Committee; committee chair David Gantt has fought red-light, bus lane, and speed camera bills for years. Advocates have also turned their attention towards the State Senate and the new Senate Transportation Committee Chair Martin Dilan. (A Transportation Alternatives action alert aimed at Dilan is here.)

There are some bright spots for speed cameras in the region, however. Gov. Paterson’s 2009-2010 Executive Budget allocates funds to the State Police for speed cameras in highway work zones and select stretches of highway. In neighboring Connecticut, Gov. Jodi Rell has proposed creating a speed camera pilot program in her FY2010 and 2011 budget. Despite a restriction on using cameras to levy tickets or collect revenue, the town of West Hartford installed the state’s first speed enforcement camera at a dangerous intersection. The town’s police department plans to use it as a traffic calming tool, mailing warnings to drivers caught speeding.

Image: TSTC graph using Terminal Velocity data.

NJ Red Light Camera Program Expands to More Localities

Becca Homa — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 22:59:01 +0000

Route 1 and Plainfield Ave. in Edison is one of the intersections to get a red light camera. 70 red-light citations were issued and 113 accidents occurred at the intersection last year.

Late last month, NJDOT announced that six more municipalities will be participating in a red light camera pilot program created last year. Edison, Jersey City, Lawrence, Linden, New Brunswick, and Wayne will install cameras at locations with a demonstrated history of violations and crashes related to red light running.

The five-year pilot program began after legislation to create it was passed in January 2008. A first round of pilot program municipalities (including Newark) was announced in November. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety red light cameras have been proven to reduce violations and crashes, making streets safer for pedestrians and motorists.

NJDOT also awarded four Centers of Place grants for non-traditional transportation projects that revitalize communities and create a central identity. Projects the program funds include aesthetic improvements to transportation facilities, restoration of historic transportation structures and upgrades to existing parking management systems. The four municipalities selected to receive funds are Riverton in Burlington County, Hightstown in Mercer County, Atlantic Highlands in Monmouth County and Sparta in Sussex County. These areas will receive a combined total of $1.4 million.

Image: Google Street View.

NYC Council Strengthens Anti-Idling Enforcement

Becca Homa — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:51:17 +0000

Late last month the New York City Council passed two laws aimed at reducing vehicle idling and the harmful emissions it creates. Intro 40 expands the agencies which can enforce idling prohibitions to the Department of Parks and Recreations and the Department of Sanitation. These two agencies will join with the Department of Environmental Protection and the New York Police Department. The legislation also gives civilians the ability to report truck violations; previously citizens were only able to bring complaints against buses. The second law, Intro 631, reduces the amount of time vehicles can idle in front of public and private school facilities from three minutes to one minute. The law also strengthens reporting mechanisms, requiring the city’s Environmental Control Board and Department of Finance to submit annual reports on the number of violations and summons issued.

Citizens can now report truck idling violations by calling NYCDEP or 311.

Reducing idling has key environmental, public health and economic effects. According to the Environmental Defense Fund’s report “Idling Gets You Nowhere,” idling cars and trucks in New York City produce 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually. Those same cars and trucks produce 760 tons of nitrogen oxides, which contribute to respiratory disease and impaired lung development, cancer, asthma, heart disease, lower IQ levels and various prenatal conditions. Finally, wasted gasoline costs in New York City add up to $45 million per year. That’s $70 for the average car owner.

This legislation marks an important step forward in the city’s commitment to enforce idling prohibitions. In 2002, only 325 idling violations were issued. While this number grew to 536 in 2007, equipping two additional agencies with the power to enforce idling prohibitions and requiring annual reporting greatly aids the city’s ability to enforce its idling laws.

Image: Via Edmunds Green Car Advisor.

Hearing on NYC Bicycle-Friendly Zoning Change is Wednesday

Becca Homa — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 22:42:10 +0000

On Wednesday the City Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on a proposed amendment to the Zoning Resolution that will require indoor, secure, long-term bicycle parking in new multi-family residential, community facility and commercial buildings. City Planning surveys have found that a lack of bicycle parking in offices is one of the main reasons that more cyclists do not bike to work.

The hearing will start at 10am and be held at Spector Hall located at 22 Reade Street in Manhattan. Public testimony is welcomed. For more information see the Department of City Planning’s Zoning for Bicycle Parking.

Westchester Incorporating Land Use Into New BRT Line

Becca Homa — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 14:00:15 +0000

A concept drawing for bus-oriented development at Central and Harding Aves. in White Plains.

Westchester County continues to move forward on creating a BRT line on Central Avenue and is making concerted efforts to incorporate transit-oriented development at three sites along the route. Naomi Klein, the project manager for the study, gave an update on Westchester’s progress at a NYMTC event last month. (Presentation available here.)

The line will run along a 14.4-mile stretch of Central Avenue, a corridor connecting Yonkers, White Plains, and New York City. (MTR profiled the line back in June). In Westchester, the three areas selected for conceptual transit-oriented development designs are Harding Avenue in White Plains, a former Barnes and Noble site in Greenburgh and the former Yonkers Avenue parking garage in Yonkers.

Concept for the former Barnes & Noble site.

As the gateway to White Plains, Harding Avenue needs higher density development and increased amenities for pedestrians, Klein said. Conceptual designs include plans to bring in mixed-use residential, office and retail, streetscape improvements to sidewalks and crosswalks, and shared parking. Development at the Barnes and Noble site in Greenburgh would include a physical and visual connection with a Hartsdale Avenue BRT station. Plans for the vacant Yonkers Avenue parking garage include a destination hotel and retail plaza and streetscape improvements including better sidewalks, more trees and seating areas.

Because land use is controlled by the localities in the corridor, Westchester DOT is working with them to make these changes. As part of the study Westchester DOT created model TOD overlay zones that localities could adopt to encourage high-density development. The overlay zones allow apartment buildings, mixed-use facilities and other high-traffic buildings such as banks and hospitals. Prohibited uses would include low-density housing and development and other strip commercial development.

The town of Greenburgh is also drawing up a new Comprehensive Plan that includes zoning that encourages compact development. Greenburgh Commissioner of Community Development Thomas Madden told MTR that, at public hearings, residents of Greenburgh and the surrounding communities were eager to cut down on suburban sprawl, especially along the strip mall-like parts of Central Avenue.

The final report detailing the results of the BRT study will be completed in early 2009. In the interim, efforts to implement transit signal priority are progressing, funded by a $2.5 million grant from the NYSDOT Multi-Modal program. Exclusive bus lanes are also being constructed on the shoulders of Central Avenue for two miles between the Greenburgh/Yonkers line and Sadore Lane in Yonkers.

Although conventionally centered around rail, transit-oriented development has been successful around BRT lines in the United States and around the world. A recent example of this successful integration is Cleveland’s BRT, the Healthline. Over $4.3 billion has been invested in development along the route. The Healthline has served not only as the impetus for transit-oriented development but as a catalyst for neighborhood revitalization. With collaboration and smart planning Westchester could see similar success.

Public Meeting on West Side Development is Today

Becca Homa — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:55:26 +0000

Today, a scoping session for parts of the Riverside South development in Manhattan will be held today from 6:00 to 8:45 PM at the City Planning Commission located at 22 Reade Street. This portion of the large development, being proposed by Extell Corporation, would occupy West 59th Street to West 61st Street along the Hudson River. A development of this size could mean sweeping changes for the neighborhood; Extell had originally proposed adding a Costco and 2,300 parking spaces to the development, but later backed out. Today’s meeting is a chance to learn more about the project and solicit public opinion.

PBS Turns Attention to MTA Crisis

Becca Homa — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:58:31 +0000

New York Voices will air on Tuesday, Dec. 16th at 8:00 pm

As part of its “Blueprint America” program, PBS affiliate Thirteen/WNET New York will air a “New York Voices” segment about the MTA’s financial crisis and its impact on the major proposed and existing transit capital projects slated for completion over the next decade. The program will include an exclusive interview with Richard Ravitch, chairman of the Commission on MTA Financing, who released a plan in early December to mitigate the MTA’s budget shortfall.

The program is especially timely given an upcoming MTA Board meeting this Wednesday at 9:30 am, when the Board is expected to vote and approve its proposed doomsday budget. The budget lists scores of service cuts and reductions across the entire MTA service territory-subway, bus and commuter rail-that are cost cutting measures to be enacted to meet a legally required balanced budget by December 31, 2008. Of particular relevance in “New York Voices” is an examination of what the agency’s financial turmoil means for the completion of long awaited capital projects such as the Second Avenue Subway line.

This segment, which will undoubtedly reach audiences beyond NYC, highlights the importance of mass transit in NYC and its surrounding counties, underscoring the need to keep the project momentum going. “New York Voices” airs Tuesday, December 16th at 8:00 pm on Thirteen.