Tapped-Out Bridge Spawns Bus Vs. Train Debate
By Yurcan, Bryan F
By some estimates, the Tappan Zee Bridge carries 135,000 vehicles per day, 50,000 more than was originally intended when the bridge opened for traiffic in 1955.
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Council has projected that the Tappan Zee could reach 200,000 vehicles daily by 2025.
While most are in agreement that an effective public transportation system is needed for the Westchester-Rockland corridor, debate has raged over whether a bus rapid transit (BRT) model or a commuter rail would be the ideal solution.
However, it is difficult to make a decision until the state reveals more details about the costs and other specifics of each option, argues one local planner.
“At this; point, it’s hard to determine which option is better,” said Jeffrey Zupan, a senior fellow and transportation consultant with the Regional Plan Association in Chestnut Ridge.
He did say that the public should give the BRT option a chance before they immediately dismiss it.
“The politics favor a rail option, people know rail, they like, it, and Metro-North generally does a good job,” he said. “The bus generally has a poor image. But by and large the public doesn’t know BRT People should be prepared to see that it’s not so bad after all.”
Zupan also said we should wait until Gov Eliot Spitzer has had enough time to review difrerent options and gives an opinion.
Spitzer earlier this month asked the state Department of Transportation (DOT) to head the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement project, which was previously directed by the state Thruway Authority.
Spitzer announced that Timothy Gilchrist, his deputy secretary for transportation and infrastructure, will lead the overall project. DOT Commissioner Astrid Glynn will also be closely involved with the Tappan Zee Bridge study.
Although Zupan said no options should be ruled out at this point, he cautioned that it may be difficult to construct a new rail fine along the I-287 corridor.
“There really hasn’t been a commuter rail line built (in the area) from scratch for many years,” he said. “If you try to build it today through a suburban community, there will be community impacts, there will be NIMBY syndrome.” (NIMBY. not in my backyard.)
Zupan also believes that BRT “has a better chance to serve the scattered job markets in Westchester and the scattered residents in Rockland.”
Jonathan Drapkin, president of Pattern for Progress, a regional planning group, also said more information about specific proposals is needed, but in general his group favors a commuter rail option.
“In general, (rail) is good for Westchester and Rockland, and beyond that it’s important for the rest of the Hudson Valley,” he said.
Drapkin said one idea being bandied about, where a new Westchester-Rockland commuter rail would connect with the existing Port Jervis line in Orange County, is worth looking at.
He said it could help give a mass-transit option for people traveling from the west side of the river to Westchester for work.
“More and more people crossing the bridge are no longer heading to Manhattan; 44 percent are heading to jobs in Westchester and Connecticut,” he said.
Further, he said it could help create a valleywide, transit system, with Stewart international Airport as a major focal point.
Although a rail option is likely to be more costly than BRT, he said that shouldn’t deter it, and the state should look at public- private partnerships to fund it.
“Any plan is going to be expensive, if you accept that, then let’s solve as many issues as possible,” he said.
Drapkin said BRT should also be considered, but as a complement to, not at the exclusion of, commuter rail.
Either way, Drapkin said the project offers an opportunity to change drastically the landscape of the Hudson Valley for the next 100 years.
“It really requires some true vision, a project like this needs a modern-day version of Robert Moses,” he said in reference to New York’s 20th-century megabuilder of such projects as the Cross-Bronx Expressway and Taconic State Parkway. “A well-planned mass-transit system can ensure development occurs in the right areas. It’s one of those rare moments where there is the ability to make a profound impact on people’s lives.”
Copyright Westfair Communications Jul 02, 2007
(c) 2007 Westchester County Business Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.