Port Authority

In a region where passenger transportation is being reimagined, freight needs to catch up. That's the message Chris Ward, the executive director of the Port Authority, delivered in a "call to arms" at Baruch College this morning. After outlining the importance and challenges of moving freight, Ward put forward the beginning of a plan to rationalize cargo movement, calling for a combination of new infrastructure, new pricing schemes, and centralized distribution centers scattered across the New York region. 

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is a huge player in the region's transportation system. It manages the PATH train, the world's busiest bus terminal, all the major airports and seaports, and the bridges and tunnels between New York City and New Jersey. Now the Port Authority is adding one more mode to its portfolio: the bicycle.

At a panel put on by the New School last week, some of New York's biggest players in transportation and planning came together to discuss the future of the city's infrastructure. They all seemed to agree: The city can't keep up with its global competitors without new sources of revenue.

Streetsblog has gotten word that, due to Port Authority construction and maintenance work, the north and south sidewalks of the George Washington Bridge will be closing intermittently until further notice.

The Lincoln Tunnel Express Bus Lane is a congestion-busting powerhouse, moving 62,000 riders into Manhattan during the morning rush every day and enticing huge numbers of commuters to leave their cars at home. It is now "the most efficient roadway in the country," according to an analysis by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. One shudders to think of the traffic nightmare we'd have without it.

It took four months longer than expected, but here's good news from the Port Authority, care of The Manhattan Times, regarding the greenway detour between W. 158th and 181st Streets:

A temporary detour along the Hudson River Greenway in Washington Heights went into effect Thursday.

Plans to bring "big box" retail to a remodeled George Washington Bridge Bus Station have been scuttled due to fears that it would attract more car-commuting shoppers to Washington Heights.