The Suffolk County Legislature adopted a resolution last Tuesday by a vote of 16 to 2 that will provide the county over $320,000 in New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC) funding to study potential Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes in Suffolk County. The NYMTC grant funds are provided through the federal government, and Suffolk will only be responsible for the remaining 20 percent of the study’s costs, or approximately $80,000.

Building on the legislature’s near-unanimous vote to expand Sunday and evening bus service, funding for a BRT feasibility study will allow the County to analyze the potential economic, sustainability and community benefits that BRT could bring to all Long Islanders. The feasibility study will build upon a BRT symposium from last October, organized by TSTC and other advocates.

Along with other transit and smart growth advocates, TSTC provided testimony in support of the feasibility study, as it represents a logical first step to determine potential BRT routes that would not only improve transit options in Suffolk County, but also encourage the smart growth and transit-oriented development that is needed to support the system (and vice versa). The feasibility study will be a necessary element in Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone’s Connect Long Island plan, which emphasizes coordinated land use, transportation and economic development policies.