Your weekly guide to heroic and villainous actions in Tri-State transportation and development.
Winners
County Executives Rob Astorino, Scott Vanderhoef, and MaryEllen Odell—In the face of growing pressure to sign on to a Tappan Zee Bridge replacement plan that did not address congestion in the I-287 corridor, the three county executives stood up for transit, securing a New York State commitment to bridge-only bus lanes and the creation of a Regional Transit Task Force. The task force’s recommendations for transit in the Lower Hudson Valley are due in a year.
Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra—Last Friday, Mayor Segarra rode his bike to work and then held a breakfast for bicycle commuters at the Old State House.
New Jersey public transportation commuters—After NJ Transit won sizeable federal grants for its bus system last month, the state’s transit commuters got more good news from Washington: NJ Transit just received $8.5 million to implement technological improvements on over 900 buses. Days before that, news broke that D.C. had given $3.5 million for bus facility and service improvements in Ridgewood and Westmont, along with $4 million for Rutgers’ National Transit Institute.
New York City Councilman Daniel Dromm—When area merchants complained about a new pedestrian plaza in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City Councilman Daniel Dromm worked to address local concerns about the project. The result? Former opponents have joined a group created to maintain the plaza.
Long Beach and Hempstead residents—Governor Cuomo has signed a law that allows the City of Long Beach and Town of Hempstead to set speed limits below 30 miles per hour on certain roads.
Losers
New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio—In pushing for a more “incremental” pace for streetscape improvements, Mr. de Blasio recently branded New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan a “radical.” But according to 66% of New Yorkers, bike lanes are no longer a radical proposition. A recent New York Times poll found that when New Yorkers were “asked simply whether…bike lanes were a good idea or a bad idea, 66 percent…said they were a good idea.”
MTA riders—A recent Transportation Alternatives petition reminds MTA riders that a fare hike is looming in 2013, the consequence of chronic underfunding from Albany. Tell Governor Cuomo to stop the fare hike today!
