The federal government has lost its trucking mind.
So says the state's trucking industry trade group, which is demanding that the Federal Highway Administration abandon its objection to the 34th Street busway — a red flag speciously thrown up by Administrator Sean McMaster on the false premise that truckers would not be able to access the crosstown corridor because of the city Department of Transportation's plan to put down red paint.
"We support DOT's busway initiatives, including the 34th Street busway project, and believe they are an important tool to improve mobility and facilitate local deliveries," Gian Marco DeFilippis, a spokesperson for the Trucking Industry of New York told Streetsblog. "We remain hopeful that the city and federal government can resolve this matter in a way that keeps this important initiative to move forward."
The statement will be welcome news for opponents of the federal government's baseless claims for sovereignty over the city's own streets, but the Trucking Industry of New York's attitude is not surprising. The plan for 34th Street will allow trucks drivers to drive the length of the corridor, like they can on almost every busway in the city (with the exception of the Archer Avenue and Fulton Street busways). To reduce the congestion that actually delays buses and crucial trucking, private vehicles and cabs that access the corridor will be required to make the first right turn to exit it.
Supporters of the busway — i.e. people who are not using a time-tested transit-priority design to exact petty political revenge — know that restricting the amount of private cars on a street makes things easier for truck drivers to get around and find space at loading zones.
Indeed, the federal assault on the 34th Street busway is akin to the feds' grasping-at-straws approach on congestion pricing, Assembly Member Micah Lasher pointed out at a rally last week. In court, lawyers for the federal government have made the baseless claim that congestion pricing has led to more traffic in the Bronx, even though it has not, as Streetsblog has reported.
The federal government stood by its busway qualms, even in the face of support for it from very trucking industry.
"The NYC DOT’s proposed 34th Street busway ... would restrict the use of the corridor by passenger vehicles and narrow travel lane widths," said federal DOT spokesperson Danna Almeida. "It’s also unclear whether the busway can safely and efficiently accommodate all commercial trucks and emergency vehicles, as required under federal size and access regulations."
It should be noted that the rules for the busway includes the following phrase: "Only buses, trucks, Access-A-Ride vans, and emergency vehicles may travel all the way through the busway," evidence that the DOT is designing a busway that can accommodate emergency vehicles and trucks.
