Your weekly guide to heroic and villainous actions in tri-state transportation and development.
Winners
Connecticut, Westchester, and Long Island rail commuters—According to recently released data, 93% of customers are satisfied with Metro-North service and 86% of customers are satisfied with LIRR service, figures that are up over last year. And yet, Long Island and Lower Hudson Valley elected officials continue to put these gains in jeopardy by praising a judicial ruling that puts an essential MTA funding source at risk. Satisfaction levels would not be maintained if Metro-North fares went up by 32% and LIRR fares went up by 46%, as would happen if the MTA covered (a piece of) the lost funding through fare hikes.
New York City Department of Transportation—“LOOK!”, NYCDOT’s latest road safety program, will help increase road user awareness at dangerous intersections, and a second facet of the program aims to educate taxi passengers about the dangers of dooring cyclists.
Newark Mayor Cory Booker—Yesterday, New Jersey’s largest city announced that it had passed a complete streets policy. Mantua Township also passed a complete streets policy this month, the first in Gloucester County.
Losers
Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan—In response to concerns about the significant potential traffic impacts of the American Dream Meadowlands megamall, which sits next to the Jets’ and Giants’ MetLife Stadium, County Executive Donovan wrote an op-ed claiming that the retail development could actually reduce postgame traffic, assuming the teams and mall work together to “entice football fans to American Dream after games.” A better way to reduce traffic congestion, seven days a week, would be for the developer to support increased transit service to the site.
New York City Transit riders—While MTA commuter rail customer satisfaction percentage was in the 80s and 90s, only 69% of MTA bus customers were satisfied with their service, while 75% of subway customers were satisfied with theirs (click here to see survey data from all MTA divisions). These figures are likely to go even lower if state elected officials don’t find new funding for the region’s transit system, especially as riders brace themselves to shoulder even more of the MTA’s financial burden.
Milford students’ safety—The halving of a Connecticut school’s transportation budget has led to significant bus cuts, leaving two students with a treacherous two-mile walk to their bus stop. In the absence of busing, the students are forced to walk along a dangerous road with few sections of sidewalk. If ever there were a reminder that Connecticut must invest in pedestrian safety improvements for its roads, this is it.
