Staten Island

Next year, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge will mark its 50th anniversary. Although the structure was designed to accommodate pedestrian and bicycle paths, they were never included. Now, advocates are hoping a renewed push can close the gap in what they're calling the Harbor Ring, a 50-mile loop around Upper New York Bay. This week, the initiative launched an online petition to Governor Cuomo, asking him to support the plan and move it forward.

A motorist who killed an elderly man and injured his wife on Staten Island has been cleared of responsibility by NYPD.

While some coastal areas in Staten Island cope with the devastation of Sandy, the city is moving ahead with a public meeting tonight about a parking-saturated mega-development for the north end of the island. According to one developer, the project will include "every possible bit of parking" that can be built there. At the same time, the developers will contribute nothing to improve surface transit to the site, even though it is located in the most transit-accessible part of Staten Island and the MTA is planning a new busway that will directly serve the area.

The woman who was killed by a motorist in Staten Island on Saturday has been identified by NYPD as Suying Du, 56.

In case you missed it, today the Staten Island Advance rounded up outraged quotes from local politicos in response to the MTA's proposed fare and toll hikes. Big emphasis on "toll hikes" -- it's the prospect of paying more to cross the Verrazano Bridge that has State Senator Andrew Lanza vowing to somehow defeat the proposal in Albany, while U.S. Representative Michael Grimm pledged to do the same through an act of Congress.

An 81-year-old woman was fatally struck by a driver while crossing a Staten Island street last week.

Select Bus Service begins on Hylan Boulevard this Sunday, aiming to speed bus rides by 15 minutes between Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and the Staten Island Mall, cutting trip times by 20 percent on Staten Island's second-busiest bus corridor. Mayor Bloomberg, Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and MTA Chairman and CEO Joe Lhota marked the occasion at a press conference near the Staten Island Mall this morning.

New York City's fourth Select Bus Service route will travel down Staten Island's Hylan Boulevard as soon as this September. The improvements are expected to speed travel times by 20 percent along the island's second-busiest route, according to a report by the MTA [PDF].

The MTA announced yesterday that if it builds a new rapid transit line along Staten Island's North Shore, it will opt for bus rapid transit over light rail, an MTA spokesperson told Streetsblog. The obstacle now, as always, is money.