A weekly roundup of good deeds, missteps, heroic feats and epic failures in the tri-state region and beyond.
WINNERS
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy — Surgeon General Murthy announced Step it Up!, a call to action that goes beyond simply encouraging Americans to walk more by urging city planning and transportation professionals to design walkable communities.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo — The governors sent a joint letter to President Obama with a funding proposal for the Hudson River Tunnels project.
Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy and Transportation Commissioner James Redeker — CTfastrak recorded its millionth passenger trip since launching in April, exceeding original ridership projections.
U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA) — Congressman Larsen penned a letter signed by 22 other representatives that asks U.S. House Transportation Committee Ranking Member Peter DeFazio and Highways and Transit Subcommittee Ranking Member Eleanor Holmes Norton to protect funding for the Transportation Alternatives Program, which supports biking and walking projects throughout the country.
LOSERS
MTA Chairman Tom Prendergast — Chairman Prendergast called on New York City to increase its contribution to the MTA at the opening of the city-funded 34th Street-Hudson Yards subway station.
No. 7 train riders — New York’s first new subway station in over 25 years has already experienced signal delays and a broken escalator, adding to the 7 line’s 37 percent of facilities in need of repairs.
New Jersey Transit — Service cuts took effect this week, some of which came as a surprise to riders because the agency did not publicize their elimination.
Long Island Rail Road riders – A derailed freight train on the LIRR’s Main Line led to delays and cancellations for thousands of riders, and restored rush hour service Wednesday night is “an aspiration, not a guarantee.”
California — California lawmakers scrapped provisions in a climate change bill to cut state oil consumption by 50 percent by 2030. Also this week in the Golden State, scientists estimated that California’s snowpack is at its lowest level in over 500 years.
