A weekly roundup of good deeds, missteps, heroic feats and epic failures in the tri-state region and beyond.
WINNERS
New Haven, CT — New Haven Transportation, Traffic & Parking Director Doug Hausladen and other local leaders are coming up with some low-cost traffic calming solutions.
Flushing Commons developer Michael Meyer — The developer who is replacing a municipal parking lot with a major mixed-used development in Flushing, Queens, is calling on agencies to implement pedestrian-friendly infrastructure and ease up on parking requirements to spur future development.
Englewood, NJ — The City of Englewood voiced support for NJ Transit’s Bergen County Bus Rapid Transit plan earlier this month, which officials say “will fill a tremendous void” in Englewood’s transit network.
LOSERS
New York City Councilmember David Greenfield — Well-known for his tendency to defend parking in the city, it isn’t surprising to learn that Councilmember Greenfield is now fighting a request to reduce the required parking for a new mega-development.
2 and C train riders — The 2 train was ranked last in Straphangers’ State of the Subways Report Card, and MTA officials said that the 1960s-era trainsets used for C train service won’t be replaced for at least another three years.
NY State Senator Andrew Lanza and Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis — After their request to discontinue the use of a bus lane camera on Staten Island’s Hylan Boulevard was denied, Lanza and Malliotakis “slammed the city’s use of the Bus Lane Camera Program on Staten Island,” and called it “New York City’s latest get-rich-quick scheme.”
Re: Englewood
I am glad to see that Englewood supports transit improvements. And, personally, I think true gold or silver level BRT is great, if properly located. I do, however, have concerns in this instance.
1. If I am reading the project report correctly, the Bergen County proposals are not true BRT. They are limited stop express bus services with most using higher speed roadways (highways and expressways). This is not BRT.
2. The particular Englewood “BRT” proposal parallels the proposed HBLR Bergen County extension with stops within Englewood at similar locations. Given the shortage of transit funding in New Jersey, it would seem to me to make more sense to build the HBLR extension and then use the West Side Avenue station as a bus hub to connect the entire HBLR network to the Meadowlands. Different high frequency, limited stop, bus routes with signal preemption and other features could radiate from the West Side Avenue stop to the Secaucus Junction Station, the new American Dream project, the Harmon Meadow area, the Harman Cove area, and other job and retail sites throughout the Meadowlands.
Connecting the entire HBLR network to the Meadowlands would be far more beneficial than the proposed Englewood limited stop bus route trying to serve multiple Meadowland locations with one route.
A far better use of NJT’s limited resources would be to integrate NJT rail with NJT bus including a common fare structure and transfers, increase rail service on lines where there is potential for providing intra-New Jersey service in conjuntion with buses to a train every 15 minutes and looking at DMUs and EMU that canbe operating both independently and as a part of longer locomotive hauled trains. This also means speeding up the implementation of the HBLRT northern extension.
Say what you want about those old C trains, post rehab. they have great air conditioning in the summer.