A weekly roundup of good deeds, missteps, heroic feats and epic failures in the tri-state region and beyond.
WINNERS
TSTC’s 2016 Honorees — At our benefit last night, we were pleased to recognize New Jersey Senators Loretta Weinberg and Bob Gordon, CTfastrak and AECOM for their work toward improving transportation options and strengthening the region’s transportation network.
New York City Councilmember Paul Vallone — After a driver struck two students outside a school in Flushing, Councilmember Vallone called upon the NYC Department of Transportation to install a School Slow Zone outside J.H.S. 185 and P.S. 21. The zone will be enacted by the end of the month.
New York City Councilmembers Vanessa Gibson, Andrew Cohen, Fernando Cabrera and Ritchie Torres — These Bronx City Councilmembers have endorsed a complete street redesign of Grand Concourse—the borough’s most dangerous road–that includes improved crosswalks, protected bike lanes and dedicated bus lanes.
New York City Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez — Councilmember Rodiguez is calling for a study to identify the city’s 10 most pedestrian-trafficked corridors and solutions to improve pedestrian traffic flow and safety.
Brooklyn bicyclists — Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes, the group seeking the removal of the Prospect Park West protected bike lane, finally dropped their five-year-long lawsuit against the NYC Department of Transportation.
NJ Transit South Orange station — NJ Transit’s busiest station–serving 4,000 riders every day–celebrates its centennial today.
LOSERS
Connecticut Metro-North riders — The MTA Board of Directors voted (thought not unanimously) Wednesday to approve the fare increase proposed by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Once implemented, the monthly commutation cost for those who commute between Stamford and Manhattan, for example, will jump from $313 to $332, while the cost of a one-way off-peak ticket from New Haven to Grand Central would be $17.50, up from the current $16.50.
West Hartford Town Council — The council unanimously rejected a zoning amendment which would have allowed slightly higher density in town center.
Upper East Side subway riders — The Second Avenue Subway will likely not open in time to meet its December 2016 deadline.
New Jersey drivers — Traffic fatalities in the Garden State have risen 7.8 percent thus far into 2016 compared to 2015.
Re: South Orange Station – It is not, by far, NJ Transit’s “busiest” station. Even when one excludes the terminals, it is not the busiest. Metropark is busiest (per NJ Transit’s fact sheet) at over 7,000 weekday boardings. The article from which you lifted this clearly states, South Orange is the busiest (suburban) station on the Morris and Essex lines. I don’t know if that is correct; but, at least it has a fighting chance to be.