A weekly roundup of good deeds, missteps, heroic feats and epic failures in the tri-state region and beyond.
WINNERS
Queens Boulevard pedestrians — Mayor de Blasio announced plans to transform the notorious “Boulevard of Death” with protected bike lanes, more pedestrian space and redesigned access to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to curb speeding.
MTA — The MTA Board issued a statement of purpose pledging to comply with affordable housing requirements in all future sales, leases or transfer of property.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx — After NJ Transit commuters were slammed with delays last week, Secretary Foxx urged Governors Christie and Cuomo to meet to discuss the Hudson River rail tunnels and potential federal funding for the project.
NYC Public Advocate Tish James — James urged the New York City Department of Transportation to include bike lanes in Vision Zero street redesign projects.
NY Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie — During his upstate tour, Heastie expressed support for state aid towards public transit systems as part of job creation efforts.
Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy — Amid wavering lockbox support from legislators, Governor Malloy defended his push for a constitutional amendment to protect transportation funding.
LOSERS
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie — The governor’s decision to cancel the ARC tunnel project in 2010 still plagues commuters today.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown — The penalty for an impaired, unlicensed driver who nearly killed a man and tried to leave the scene of the crash: $500.
New York — Despite having the sixth strictest driving laws in the nation, New York has some of the most lenient penalties for reckless drivers, ranking 41st.
The New York real estate interests that mangled the project so that it was worthless deserve the blame.
What will it take for tstc to understand that ARC – the train to Macy’s basement, was beyond absurd? Mind you, Chrissy didn’t have to diver the funds to his favorite project, he could have moved them to the now planned new tunnels to Penn Station from Jersey, but he was write that ARC was an expensive out of control joke.
The Amtrak Gateway tunnel plan is better for the region than the now-dead NJ Transit ARC tunnel plan. Gateway’s tunnel will connect with the existing Penn Station tracks, ARC’s would not. Gateway is more oriented towards improving intercity passenger rail service in the Northeast. ARC was focused on more commuter rail service from NJ with some increase in Amtrak capacity. Gateway will produce more economic value for NJ and NY than the ARC tunnel.