The Trans-Hudson Transit Crunch Keeps Getting Tougher to Fix
When news broke earlier this week that replacing the Port Authority Bus Terminal would cost $11 billion, advocates were skeptical. At a board meeting today, many Port Authority commissioners, while recognizing the need to replace and expand the terminal, joined in that skepticism.
March 19, 2015
TA: De Blasio Must Undo Construction Budget Cuts to Fix Dangerous Streets
Arterial streets -- the city's big, busy, highway-like roadways -- cover just 15 percent of the New York City street network but account for nearly 60 percent of all pedestrian fatalities. The city will have to overhaul these streets to achieve Mayor de Blasio's Vision Zero goals. And to make those changes, the city must reverse cuts to its roadway reconstruction budget, according to a new report from Transportation Alternatives [PDF].
March 19, 2015
The New Plan to Connect Downtown Brooklyn to Its Waterfront
Starting in the 1930s, entire city blocks in Brooklyn Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, and DUMBO were razed for expressways and parks. Today, this jumble of on-ramps and disconnected green space separates Brooklyn's waterfront from its downtown core. A new public-private initiative, called "The Brooklyn Strand," seeks to knit these disjointed areas back together.
March 18, 2015
State Senator Jose Peralta, Who Opposed Congestion Pricing, Backs Move NY
State Senator Jose Peralta, who opposed congestion pricing and East River bridge tolls as an Assembly member, is the first state legislator to publicly endorse the Move NY toll reform plan. The proposal would create a consistent toll cordon for Manhattan south of 60th Street while lowering tolls on outlying bridges to raise funds for transit and roads (mostly transit).
March 18, 2015
Does a New Port Authority Bus Terminal Really Cost $11 Billion?
It hit this morning's headlines with a thud: Replacing the aged, overburdened Port Authority Bus Terminal will cost up to a staggering $11 billion, according to a plan to be presented to the Port Authority's board on Thursday. But is that figure based in reality?
March 17, 2015
Vacca Endorses Move NY Toll Reform as a Fair MTA Funding Fix
The Move NY toll reform plan, which would create a consistent toll cordon around the Manhattan central business district while dropping toll rates on outer-borough crossings, has received the endorsement of Council Member James Vacca of the Bronx.
March 16, 2015
Scenes From New York’s Broken Public Process for Street Redesigns
Even the most modest, common-sense street safety improvements can run into a brick wall at public meetings in New York City. The latest case in point: A DOT plan to improve pedestrian safety on two blocks of an extra-wide, low-traffic section of Lenox Avenue in Harlem, which became the subject of a two-hour Manhattan Community Board 10 committee meeting on Tuesday.
March 13, 2015