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k1052 Jan 26, 2015 3:30 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by CIA (Post 6889278)
If we're talking fantasy, why not extend the N along the same alignment.
Because this was never going to be an MTA project since the previous attempt was shot down. They have other places to spend their time and money

chris08876 Jan 26, 2015 10:58 PM
Subway will be shut down at 11 pm today due to the blizzard. This being the "entire" system.

202_Cyclist Jan 26, 2015 11:16 PM
Work on New Hudson Train Tunnels Chugs Along
 
Work on New Hudson Train Tunnels Chugs Along
Despite Christie’s Derailing of New Hudson River Tunnels, Some Progress Is Made

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/i...0125155234.jpg
Amtrak's North River tunnels connect New Jersey lines to Manhattan. Photo: Kevin Hagen for The Wall Street Journal

By Andrew Tangel
Wall Street Journal
Jan. 25, 2015

"When opened in 1910, a pair of rail tunnels sped up trips for passengers who might have otherwise ridden ferries across the Hudson River.

These days, commuters often find the underwater tubes are the reason they are late to work.

Congestion into and out of New York Penn Station slows trains to a crawl. Broken-down trains and faulty signals force riders to sit and seethe as they cancel appointments and miss meetings..."

http://www.wsj.com/articles/work-on-...ong-1422240370

mrnyc Jan 27, 2015 7:56 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by k1052 (Post 6889216)
Rather run AirTrain over the GCP from a new transfer station at Astoria Blvd N/Q stop, to LGA terminals, and onward to Jamaica for connection to existing JFK AirTrain. Both the city and suburbs would get what they want.
i think this is the grand airtrain plan, but there is also the issue of rebuilding the terminals. instead, they should spend all that $ and more on developing stewart and eventually phase out laguardia.

k1052 Jan 27, 2015 9:27 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrnyc (Post 6891728)
i think this is the grand airtrain plan, but there is also the issue of rebuilding the terminals. instead, they should spend all that $ and more on developing stewart and eventually phase out laguardia.
I don't think an airport that remote would be viable to replace LGA, at least not with out a rapid link to the city which itself would cost a fortune.

Nexis4Jersey Jan 27, 2015 11:22 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by k1052 (Post 6891887)
I don't think an airport that remote would be viable to replace LGA, at least not with out a rapid link to the city which itself would cost a fortune.
One of the reasons for the I-287 Rail corridor was to run an Express Service from Stewart to GCT and Hoboken. Electrifying part of the Hoboken Division was pegged at 1 billion in the 90s which included rolling stock... Hoboken to Stewart is the only option now , and the costs even with Electrification are probably still reasonable...

k1052 Jan 27, 2015 11:52 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey (Post 6892058)
One of the reasons for the I-287 Rail corridor was to run an Express Service from Stewart to GCT and Hoboken. Electrifying part of the Hoboken Division was pegged at 1 billion in the 90s which included rolling stock... Hoboken to Stewart is the only option now , and the costs even with Electrification are probably still reasonable...
A prerequisite of any proposal would be for it to reach Penn or GCT at a minimum and that's going to cost a pretty penny from SWF. ISP might be doable since the LIRR is already right there and has long sought the political and financial ability to make huge upgrades to the main line that this would help justify. I don't particularly care for either option though. It seems the CTB replacement at LGA is going to proceed so the whole discussion is moot anyway.

mrnyc Jan 28, 2015 4:51 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by k1052 (Post 6892113)
A prerequisite of any proposal would be for it to reach Penn or GCT at a minimum and that's going to cost a pretty penny from SWF. ISP might be doable since the LIRR is already right there and has long sought the political and financial ability to make huge upgrades to the main line that this would help justify. I don't particularly care for either option though. It seems the CTB replacement at LGA is going to proceed so the whole discussion is moot anyway.
not necessarily with a one-seat ride. all the airports require a transfer and lga will too, so thats not the big issue. the airport itself is the big issue, its too small and will cost a ton to rebuild the terminals anyway. why not put the fork in now and point toward the future with upgrading stewart or even islip? i do agree its moot though and if anything is going to happen it will be this current airtrain plan, then perhaps a full extension connecting the jfk/lga airtrains and then a rebuild of lga. thats how it will most likely go. a shame as its just not real forward thinking to pour so much effort into lga anymore (and i'm no lga hater, that is my fav of the local airports, so it pains me to say that).

chris08876 Feb 3, 2015 5:59 PM
MTA finances subject of lawmakers' panel

Quote:
State lawmakers will take a look into the MTA's financial situation at a hearing today that aims to "stop the continuing cycle of increased fares and decreased service."

A joint hearing of the state Senate's transportation and infrastructure committees at 10:30 a.m. in Albany will grill officials on the MTA's budget and finances. The MTA is hiking fares and tolls in March as part of a planned series of hikes every two years. The MTA's finances are balanced up to 2017, though the agency is facing a $322 million deficit in 2018, according to budget documents. Meanwhile, transit officials have been pushing for money to finance a $32 billion capital program -- a $15 billion funding gap remains -- to keep the system in good working order and build megaprojects like the Second Avenue Subway and bringing Metro-North into Penn Station.
=====================================
http://www.amny.com/transit/mta-fina...anel-1.9891269

chris08876 Feb 3, 2015 10:45 PM
Proposed Routes for NYC's Expanded Ferry Service

Quote:
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced expanded ferry service across the five boroughs in his State of the City address Tuesday.
Diagrams: http://www.scribd.com/doc/254611698/...-Ferry-Service


= = = = = = = = = = = Extra Info = = = = = = = = = = = = =

New York could have a citywide ferry system by 2017

Quote:
New York City could have a ferry service connecting all of the city’s boroughs by 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday.

The idea is to create an affordable system for travelers that could also spur development in the city’s outer boroughs, de Blasio (D) said during his “State of the City” address. He said that ferry rides would cost the same as a MetroCard fare so that trips would “be as affordable to everyday New Yorkers as our subways and buses.”

“For years, the conventional wisdom has been that certain neighborhoods are doomed to isolation because of their geography,” he said, according to an advanced copy of his remarks. “We are going to change that.”

De Blasio’s address Tuesday was largely focused on his administration’s plans to improve affordable housing in the city, which he said presents “a profound challenge” to New Yorkers. The high housing costs in New York tie into the issue of income inequality, which was a centerpiece of de Blasio’s mayoral campaign in 2013.

He outlined plans to invest heavily in bringing more affordable housing and new infrastructure to the Bronx, set aside $30 million for spaces for artists to live and work, maintain 120,000 units of existing affordable housing and require major rezoning developments to include affordable housing in their plans. A legal defense fund will now provide free legal aid to tenants in rezoned neighborhoods, the vast majority of whom currently go to housing court without a lawyer, de Blasio said.

The idea of enhancing transportation to Manhattan is interesting because of the increasing number of people who commute there from the outer boroughs. The number of workers in Manhattan who traveled from these other boroughs increased between 2002 and 2009, even though the number of New York City residents overall working in Manhattan went down in the same period, according to a 2012 study from the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management at New York University. This study found that three-quarters of all commutes to Manhattan involved some form of public transit.

Ferry service could be used to essentially connect people in “underutilized waterfront areas,” while also giving travelers in areas not well-served by transit an easier way to get to bus or subway lines, the New York City Economic Development Corporation said in a report that studied how other ferry services in the city had been implemented.

Looking to nearby rivers for help in alleviating congestion is not a new idea, but it has intrigued transportation planners in some areas. In Washington, there has been talk for decades of shuttling commuters on the Potomac River, something that has not materialized. A ferry service was launched in 2012 between Oakland and San Francisco, but it initially underperformed, carrying fewer passengers than planners expected (though those numbers spiked during a transit strike in 2013).
=================================
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/p...ystem-by-2017/

chris08876 Feb 5, 2015 6:46 PM
Hudson Heights Slow Zone Would Lower Speed Limit to 20 MPH

http://assets.dnainfo.com/generated/...extralarge.jpg

Quote:
The streets of Hudson Heights will get a makeover with lower speed limits, new signage, additional speed bumps and a new crosswalk under a plan to improve pedestrian safety in the area.

The neighborhood would officially be designated a slow zone under a proposal from the Department of Transportation that would reduce speed limits to 20 mph in the area running between the Henry Hudson Parkway and Broadway from 179th Street to Fort Tryon Park.

In addition, the Bennett Avenue entrance to the 190th Street A train station would get a long-awaited crosswalk with a stop sign.

The decision to create a slow zone came after the Hudson Heights Owners Coalition advocated for the changes, with support from Community Board 12, the 34th Precinct and several elected officials. The DOT acknowledged that the area had a high number of injuries from collisions, including one fatality, two severely injured pedestrians and four severely injured vehicle occupants from 2007 to 2015.

The DOT plans to install 22 speed bumps in the area, including two on Overlook Terrace, a hilly street where residents complain about cars and cyclists racing. There would also be 12 “gateways” at intersections on the outer edges of the designated area featuring signs explaining the rules of the slow zone.
==============================
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/2015...d-limit-20-mph

mrnyc Feb 11, 2015 5:24 PM
a big sbs/brt expansion is planned:

http://m.nydailynews.com/new-york/ci...icle-1.2110880

chris08876 Feb 11, 2015 5:25 PM
Controversial plan to toll bridges gets new life

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pb...20150210112009

Quote:
The Move NY plan hinges on its proposed East River bridge tolls, which will draw howls from some motorists but are barrier-free and fiscally efficient, and would rationalize traffic flow in Queens and Brooklyn, experts say. Some business groups favor congestion pricing because it will reduce traffic jams, which cost many businesses more money than tolls would. However, many New Jersey-bound truckers plow through lower Manhattan to avoid tolls that can reach $70 for an 18-wheeler to travel through Staten Island.

Mr. Silver delivered the fatal blow to the Bloomberg plan in 2008 when he declared that the Assembly would not vote on it. The speaker's decision reflected not only his lack of enthusiasm for it but that of the Assembly majority, which is dominated by New York City Democrats. Since then, proponents of Move NY have systematically courted members of the state legislature and say they have been generally receptive—even members who opposed the Bloomberg plan.

"We think that the Assembly is going to be an opportunity, depending on how things play out over the next couple of months," said Regional Plan Association President Tom Wright.

How Mr. Heastie handles Move NY—which backers plan to jump-start with a press conference later this month—is unknown. He could champion it or, more likely, merely take the pulse of his members, as Mr. Silver did. But he could also do something in between, namely, nudge ambivalent or fence-sitting members to endorse the plan, which would toll vehicles heading into congested parts of Manhattan while reducing tolls by $2.50 to $5 on some outer-borough bridges.

Another source of encouragement for the Move NY coalition is the de Blasio administration's embrace of Vision Zero, which aims to eliminate traffic fatalities in the city. The traffic engineers behind Move NY could develop a metric that shows how many lives could be saved by funding safety improvements with congestion-pricing revenue, and by reducing traffic into Manhattan, where an average of 10 people per day are struck by vehicles. Mayor Michael Bloomberg had promoted his plan as an asthma-reducer, but the argument did not seem to resonate. A fair amount of arm-twisting was needed to get the plan narrowly approved by the City Council before it died in Albany.

Mr. Schwartz, better known as Gridlock Sam, has been persuaded to drop from his version a fee on bicycles crossing East River bridges to Manhattan, which he had initially included apparently on the mistaken assumption that it would please then-Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. Mr. Markowitz is now out of office, but says he was never consulted about a bike fee and would have opposed the idea for the same reason he opposes new vehicular tolls: he views them as a tax on outer-borough drivers.

A lingering uncertainty for Move NY is what position Gov. Andrew Cuomo will take. Backers have kept the governor's staff abreast of the plan but have avoided putting him on the spot before it appears politically safe for him to support it.

One of the Schwartz plan's selling points—but also a source of controversy—is its imposition of tolls on East River crossings that have been free for as long as any current drivers have been taking them. The lack of tolls triggers a phenomenon known as bridge-shopping, whereby motorists on highways designed to transport huge volumes of vehicles exit those roads and descend onto city streets that lead to the Queensborough, Williamsburg, Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges. Those four spans account for more than one million trips each day, while the tolled Midtown Tunnel and Hugh L. Carey (Brooklyn-Battery) Tunnel are underutilized.

The Move NY plan calls for E-ZPass users to pay $5.54 to cross the East River or 60th Street in Manhattan. Cars without E-ZPass would be billed $8 by mail using license plate-reading technology.

Designers of the plan say it would speed traffic in the central business district by 15% to 20%, reduce the number of vehicular trips into the district by 100,000 per year, yet increase the total number of visits by 110,000, thanks to the mass-transit improvements it would fund.
=====================================
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...-gets-new-life

chris08876 Feb 12, 2015 7:02 PM
R.P.A. calls, again, for outer-borough X line

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/sites/...%20xline_0.png

Quote:
The Regional Plan Association has a solution to New York City's outer borough transportation problems: build the Triboro Rx line, or the X line as it is alternately known.

The proposed 24-mile route along a mostly above-ground right-of-way now used entirely by freight trains, would serve more than 100,000 weekday riders and is, according to the association, "by far the most promising" concept for rail expansion in the outer boroughs.

Passengers would board at one of 22 different stations stretching from the Bay Ridge in Brooklyn to Jackson Heights in Queens, to Co-Op City in the Bronx.

Along the way, it would intersect with 6, N, Q, 7, E, R, F, M, L, 2, 3, and 5 trains, providing just the sort of intra- and inter-borough connectivity now lacking in New York City's radial, Manhattan-centric subway system.

(The G train, which has substantially less connectivity to other lines, carries a similar number of passengers.)

"This line would address many of the weaknesses found in the transit system in the boroughs—poor connectivity within and between the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn, slow bus service, excessive transferring and service reliability," reads the report.
===============================
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/articl...borough-x-line

C. Feb 12, 2015 9:00 PM
A moot point since it's never going to happen, but it would be nice if the Triboro line made a stop at LaGuardia airport. It would involve a change of alignment north of Jackson Heights.

Nexis4Jersey Feb 12, 2015 10:19 PM
It would have to be commuter rail rather then Rapid Transit due to the Freight and Hell Gate line. An EMU-London Overground layout would work well. I would run it up to Stamford and have a flying JCT to connect to the LIRR. So you could run trains from Jamaica up to Stamford.

chris08876 Feb 16, 2015 3:13 AM
Bus Rapid Transit, Not Ferry Subsidies, Would Help Struggling New Yorkers

http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-conten...ubsidy_edc.png

Quote:
In today’s State of the City address, Mayor de Blasio returned to his signature campaign issues of affordability and equity. Focusing mainly on housing, the mayor outlined a plan for growth centered around transit-accessible neighborhoods, and he recommitted to building several new Bus Rapid Transit routes.

But de Blasio missed the mark with his big new transit initiative — a subsidized ferry system. Dollar for dollar, ferries are just not an effective way to spend public money to improve transit options for low-income New Yorkers.

“If we are going to have affordable housing, how are we going to help people get around? What’s the role of transportation in making sure that people have access to opportunity and connecting to where the jobs are all over the five boroughs?” the mayor asked. “Well, we thought about that.”

De Blasio said rides on the new ferry system will cost no more than a MetroCard swipe when it launches in 2017. The system will receive $55 million from the city and serve neighborhoods including Astoria and the Rockaways in Queens, Red Hook in Brooklyn, and Soundview in the Bronx, according to DNAinfo.

“Ferries will be affordable to everyday New Yorkers, just like our subways and buses,” de Blasio said, adding that the ferries will help revitalize commercial corridors near their outer-borough landings.

This sounds great, until you look at how much ferries cost and how many people they would serve compared to better buses and trains.

Even with fares at $3.50 per ride, running ferries from Pier 11 to the Rockaways last year required a subsidy of nearly $30 per rider, according to the Economic Development Corporation. In part, that was because its limited schedule failed to attract much ridership. The more centrally-located East River Ferry has more ridership and a better schedule, but still had a slightly higher per-rider subsidy than bus service in 2013, on top of its $4 fare [PDF]. Dropping the fare to match the bus and subway would likely require additional subsidies.

[...]
==============================
PDF: http://www.nycedc.com/sites/default/...nal_Report.pdf
http://www.streetsblog.org/2015/02/0...g-new-yorkers/

mrnyc Feb 25, 2015 5:25 PM
yeah great to at least see the triboro rx line back in the news a bit. so needed. along with a crosstown line along 125th and one in the bronx too, like across tremont or something.

chris08876 Feb 26, 2015 12:10 PM
Why the Second Ave. subway could be delayed—again

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pb...20150225123214

Quote:
It's an ominous refrain, repeated endlessly in the same automated monotone: "Ladies and gentlemen, we are delayed because of train traffic ahead of us."

Every New Yorker who rides the subway to work each day—all 6 million, on the busiest days—has heard that message echoed over loudspeakers when a train car comes to an unexpected halt. What most commuters don't realize is that those delays are tied to a contentious political fight playing out over the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's five-year capital budget plan, which will fund critical improvements and repairs to the city's sprawling transit system.

Right now, the MTA is struggling to find funding sources for about half of that $32 billion plan. The agency could be forced to refund money to contractors on expansion projects like the East Side access project—which will connect the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal—if the budget debate isn't resolved 18 months from now, MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast said at a board meeting Wednesday.

"A year or two, we're OK," Mr. Prendergast said. "But as you start to get down that path, we get to the point where we don't have that money, we can't award design contracts, we can't award construction projects."
Another major project at risk is the new subway line that will run along Second Avenue, Mr. Prendergast said.

"Could we start the next phase of the Second Avenue subway? That would be one that would be up on the table," he said.

But Mr. Prendergast said the agency has never found itself in that position before, and he doesn't expect it will happen this time around.
"New York gets the money it needs to get the MTA to keep running," he said. Probably more so than any other entity in the United States."

Experts say the city's aging trains and buses, which already lag far behind other global metropolises, will deteriorate considerably if the transit authority is unable to digitize a century-old subway signaling system, replace miles of subway tracks and cars and fix tunnel lighting, among many critical repairs.

"We will start sliding backwards," said Richard Barone, director of transportation programs for the Regional Plan Association, an independent civic group that shapes transit policy across the tri-state area. "Stations will be looking worse. We won't have the money to maintain the track infrastructure to where it should be, and therefore it will result in greater delays. If we don't upgrade our signaling system, well, that's really bad because these are signals that are in some cases over 80 years old."

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also weighed in on the funding crisis in Albany on Wednesday, calling MTA's capital plan "woefully underfunded." The mayor criticized Gov. Andrew Cuomo's current contribution of $750 million toward the budget, saying it does not begin to address the transit authority's critical needs.

"We cannot ask riders alone to sustain the system with fare increases," Mr. de Blasio said.

Politicians and policymakers are divided over how to come up with the remaining $15 billion needed to fund the plan. Mr. Cuomo, who controls the MTA, has described it as "bloated," which implies that he will expect significant cuts in order for it to pass muster in the Legislature this summer. But the consensus among transportation experts is that the price tag actually isn't high enough to cover the massive amount of work that needs to be done.

[...]
==============================
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...-delayed-again

chris08876 Feb 27, 2015 3:50 PM
New Citi Bike locations in Williamsburg, Greenpoint revealed

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/assets/...-06-bk01_i.jpg
Rolling down the road: Citi Bike plans to add 53 stations in Williamsburg and Greenpoint.

Quote:
The G-train-dependent neighborhood and neighboring Williamsburg will get 53 Citi Bike stations as part of the private bike-sharing program’s $30 million expansion, The Brooklyn Paper has learned. One local was thrilled to hear about the bikes, which are supposed to arrive by the end of the year.

“This helps ease transportation congestion, so I support it 100 percent,” Rolf Carle said. “As long as the stations are placed responsibly and with the character of the neighborhood, I am fine with it.”

The planned stations span the area from Flushing and Marcy avenues at the border of Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant to Franklin Avenue and Dupont Street in Greenpoint, a block from the mouth of Newtown Creek, according to a map provided to the area’s Community Board 1. Notable station sites include one in McCarren Park where Union Avenue is set to be converted to green space, one on either end of McGolrick Park, and one beside the India Street pier.

Citi Bike officials originally planned to include more stations when the program rolled out in May of 2013, but they had to scale back when Hurricane Sandy destroyed equipment stored in the Navy Yard and sponsor Citibank opted not to fund its replacement. The program got a cash infusion last year when a real estate developer bought Alta Bicycle Share, Citi Bike’s troubled parent company, and the program announced it was expanding into Greenpoint, and Williamsburg. Now, planners can afford to build on many of the spots they picked years ago.
==============================
http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories...-bk_38_10.html

chris08876 Mar 6, 2015 10:40 PM
Transit Zones with respect to Affordable Housing:

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Parking Reform Gains New Future Enemies: Affordable Housing Advocates

http://www.yimbynews.com/wp-content/...t-zone_dcp.png
Where in the city parking requirements would be dropped (but only for subsidized units). Map by the Department of City Planning.

Quote:
A few weeks ago, the Department of City Planning announced its intention to tweak the city’s zoning rules to encourage the production of affordable housing. The most important change is a reduction in the city’s parking requirements, which up until now have required off-street parking throughout virtually all of the outer boroughs and Upper Manhattan – generally around one space for every two units, with exemptions for small buildings.

The requirement for developers in dense, transit-oriented neighborhoods to provide expensive parking spaces will, however, only be waived for those building subsidized housing units. All market-rate apartments – the vast majority of new construction in the city – will still need parking, with a discretionary exemption for the unsubsidized units in buildings that have set aside some units to be rented at below-market rates.

In isolation, this is a good thing – parking is an unnecessary luxury in a city as dense and costly as New York, and the requirements are especially absurd when taxpayers are footing the bill and the tenants are relatively poor.
But given the politics of affordable housing in New York City, the move also has the unfortunate side effect of ensuring a fight down the road between affordable housing advocates and those supporting more general parking reform.

Assuming City Council approves the measures, it would add parking relief to the list of benefits that developers get in exchange for building affordable housing (a tax abatement and sometimes a meager density boost are the others). But just like the tax abatement doesn’t incentivize 80/20 buildings beyond the gentrifying fringe, where all new buildings get a tax break, so too would the parking benefit disappear if reform was passed more broadly.
This would make private developers building on land already entitled for development marginally less likely to include below-market units. It’s therefore logical to assume that affordable housing interests – politicians and advocates whose sole goal is the production of subsidized units, and who are indifferent to New Yorkers who rent and buy on the market – might oppose reform for purely market-rate projects.

The de Blasio administration essentially denied the dynamic to Streetsblog:
This provision is designed not to offer the carrot of lower parking minimums in exchange for adding affordable units to a market-rate development, but to simply improve the balance sheet for mixed-income projects. “It’s not bargaining for affordable units,” said Eric Kober, director of housing, economic and infrastructure planning at DCP. “It’s really a matter of enabling the city to use its affordable housing resources as efficiently as we possibly can.”

[...]
===============================
http://www.yimbynews.com/2015/03/par...advocates.html

chris08876 Mar 12, 2015 3:15 PM
East Side Access Update:

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8567/...f0e60fa0_z.jpg

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8627/...86b75b8f_z.jpg

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8583/...15c86a6e_z.jpg

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8645/...3ea97265_z.jpg

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8606/...2cffa151_z.jpg
================================
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mtapho...57651156138202

chris08876 Mar 18, 2015 10:23 PM
Push to Replace Port Authority Bus Terminal

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/i...0316184507.jpg

Quote:
When the Port Authority Bus Terminal opened in 1950, it helped New York City funnel a growing number of buses carrying commuters into Manhattan’s West Side.

Today, the terminal west of Times Square is a major chokepoint for bus traffic from New Jersey suburbs. Commuters complain of delays, crowding and a dreary environment.

Like Penn Station about 10 blocks to the south, the terminal is also the butt of jokes. Last summer, the comedian John Oliver declared it “the single worst place on Planet Earth” and joked that even cockroaches are trying to escape.

Now the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has preliminary estimates for how much it could cost to replace its eponymous terminal: $8 billion to $11 billion, a potential price tag rivaling that of a project to dig new passenger rail tunnels under the Hudson River.

The terminal is expected to take the spotlight at the Port Authority’s board meeting on Thursday, highlighting how the agency is trying to refocus on regional transportation in the wake of the September 2013 scandal involving lane-closures at the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, N.J.

“It is an existential mission,” said Kenneth Lipper, a Port Authority commissioner from New York who has pushed for replacing the terminal. “We must do it.”

Talk of replacing the terminal comes as the Port Authority also seeks to play a starring role in jump-starting a project to build two rail tunnels under the Hudson River.

But the push to replace or overhaul the terminal comes as the timing of the Hudson River tunnel project and another major Port Authority construction project—an overhaul of the maligned Central Terminal Building building at La Guardia Airport in Queens—remain uncertain.

Amtrak, the national passenger railroad, now estimates its plan to build two tunnels as part of a set of upgrades known as Gateway, could cost from $15 billion to $20 billion.

Last year, Amtrak said it might need to close its two existing tunnels between New York and New Jersey for major repairs in coming years. A closure of those tunnels, which opened in 1910, threatens to snarl traffic on the East Coast amid growing ridership for Amtrak and NJ Transit commuter train riders.

Replacing the Port Authority Bus Terminal could take a decade a longer. But more daunting would be to work on both the depot and tunnel project simultaneously, while also finding enough capacity in the transportation network to keep people moving between both states.

“It’s like a big puzzle,” said Rich Barone, director of transportation programs at the Regional Plan Association. “We have to look at all the pieces and figure out how we actually put this thing together.”

While both projects are expensive, the terminal handles twice as many riders as Penn Station handles rail passengers from New Jersey during the morning peak.
==================================
http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-push...nal-1426547679

chris08876 Mar 19, 2015 10:29 PM
Subway And Bus Fare Hike Goes Into Effect On Sunday – MTA Bridge And Tunnel Tolls To Increase, Too

Quote:
Straphangers are going to be doling out more at the fare box, and motorists more at the toll booths, when the latest MTA hikes go into effect this Sunday.

On mass transit, fares will go up by 4 percent across the board, with the base fare rising from $2.50 to $2.75. Thirty-day Metrocards will increase in cost from $112 to $116.50. It will still cost $1 to purchase a new Metrocard, while single-fare buyers – those using the one-time use paper Metrocards – will see an increase from $2.75 to $3.00 to account for the 25-cent fee for the card.

Those who load up their Metrocards will see the bonus they get more than double, from 5 percent to 11 percent, but now they have to put on a minimum of $5.50 where it was previously $5.00.

Here’s a handy chart of all the changes on mass transit that take effect Sunday:
Code:
Fare Type       

Current /        New
Base MetroCard Fare/Local Bus Cash Fare       
$2.50

$2.75

Bonus       
5% with $5 purchase

11% with $5.50 purchase

Effective Fare with Bonus       
$2.38

$2.48

Single Ride Ticket (base MetroCard/Cash Fare plus 25 cents)       
$2.75

$3.00

Express Bus FareCash
Effective MetroCard Fare with Bonus

$6.00

$5.71

$6.50

$5.86

30-Day MetroCard       
$112

$116.50

7-Day MetroCard       
$30.00

$31.00

7-Day Express Bus Plus MetroCard       
$55.00

$57.25

Access-a-Ride Fare       
$2.50

$2.75
Quote:
Tolls on MTA bridges and tunnels are also jumping 4 percent at most crossings. The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge will increase to $16 from $15 for those using cash, and to $11.08 from $10.66 for E-ZPass users. The Marine Parkway – Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge is going up 25 cents for cash paying drivers, from $3.75 to $4.00, while E-ZPass users will dole out just 8 cents more than the $2 fee they’ve been paying.

Most bridges and tunnels in the city, including the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel, will pay $8 for cash motorists, up 50 cents, while E-ZPass users see an increase to $5.54 from $5.33.

Here’s a chart with the costs for all MTA crossings:
http://www.mta.info/sites/default/fi...?itok=0h1bFidy

http://www.mta.info/sites/default/fi...?itok=flZL-_Ft

================================
http://www.bensonhurstbean.com/2015/...olls-increase/

chris08876 Mar 20, 2015 9:30 PM
Officials reject $9B plan to revamp Port Authority Bus Terminal

Quote:
A plan to transform the Port Authority Bus Terminal from a downtrodden hub in Times Square into a gleaming transit palace stalled on Thursday as officials rejected a $9 billion price tag and demanded cheaper options.

Commissioners of the Port Authority revolted against the terminal proposal presented by transit officials, saying they need to go back to the drawing board and consider other options, including building in New Jersey and creating a rail link to Manhattan or finding a cheaper locale for construction.

The hub, long considered an embarrassing stain on the city’s mass transit system, is the busiest bus terminal in the nation. It suffers from cracked floors, crumbling ceiling tiles and severe overcrowding during rush hour.

Commissioners have acknowledged for years the terminal needs to be replaced, but the project has never taken off amid Port Authority political scandals and financial burdens.
===================================
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/...icle-1.2156533

SpawnOfVulcan Mar 21, 2015 2:55 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by chris08876 (Post 6958844)
Officials reject $9B plan to revamp Port Authority Bus Terminal


===================================
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/...icle-1.2156533
F***... I remember having to take a simple trip from the Terminal to the Willowbrook Mall and having no effing clue what to do about what to do after buying my ticket... If it wasn't for someone 'hanging around', I never would have figured out the rest.... I don't know what it was, but I found that bus system much, much more confusing than the subway system.

ardecila Mar 21, 2015 6:47 PM
Seriously... maybe extending the 7 to Secaucus is needed after all, not as a replacement for Amtrak Gateway but as a replacement for rebuilding Port Authority.

The staging is easy, too - if you finish the subway line, then you can continue to use half of the current Port Authority while the other half remains in use.

At the end of it, you wind up with 10 tracks across the Hudson instead of the current 6, plus the XBL.

All of this together would cost about $20bn at New York prices, though.

Nexis4Jersey Mar 21, 2015 7:58 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila (Post 6959596)
Seriously... maybe extending the 7 to Secaucus is needed after all, not as a replacement for Amtrak Gateway but as a replacement for rebuilding Port Authority.

The staging is easy, too - if you finish the subway line, then you can continue to use half of the current Port Authority while the other half remains in use.

At the end of it, you wind up with 10 tracks across the Hudson instead of the current 6, plus the XBL.

All of this together would cost about $20bn at New York prices, though.
The 7 should go to Hoboken Terminal where just about NJT line feeds into. Most of the Bus lines in North & Central Jersey are in place of Rail networks that were supposed to be up and running but are not due to New York. Sending the 7 to Hoboken Terminal which is underused and restoring the Rail network in NJ is the best way to go. The line that runs between Hoboken and 42nd Street is overcapacity aswell... You could expand the Bus Terminal at Hoboken and feed some of the Buses from Western Jersey and PA into the Hub. Its only a few blocks from the Turnpike...

k1052 Mar 21, 2015 10:45 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila (Post 6959596)
Seriously... maybe extending the 7 to Secaucus is needed after all, not as a replacement for Amtrak Gateway but as a replacement for rebuilding Port Authority.

The staging is easy, too - if you finish the subway line, then you can continue to use half of the current Port Authority while the other half remains in use.

At the end of it, you wind up with 10 tracks across the Hudson instead of the current 6, plus the XBL.

All of this together would cost about $20bn at New York prices, though.
The NYEDC feasibility study for the 7 extension to Secaucus included a decent sized bus terminal, mindful of the burdens the PABT has long been under. As proposed the extension could comfortably absorb half the current peak hour PABT passenger load so that terminal could be made much larger if desired. Major platform and vertical circulation upgrades (in addtion to the 10th ave station) would however have to be done to the Manhattan stations on the Flushing Line to handle the load.

I half wonder if it would be possible to build a single large bore quad track (2 subway, 2 NEC in a 2x2 stack) tunnel to accomplish both projects more cost effectively. Penn won't be ready to receive more riders probably for decades because of MSG and the physical limitations but ridership can spill onto NYCT at Secaucus in the interim and the North River Tubes can be shut down for rebuilds without causing all NEC services to implode/world come to an end.

chris08876 Mar 22, 2015 1:26 AM
The Move NY Fair Plan (PDF)

1) http://www.capitalnewyork.com/sites/...n-150217v1.pdf

Its a pretty good read. Lots about the costs of transportation, solutions, tolls, buses, taxis, and so on for 2015 and beyond.

chris08876 Mar 25, 2015 12:25 AM
7-train extension opening delayed again

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pb...20150324065133

Quote:
Photographs of a long-awaited new subway station on Manhattan's far West Side reveal an airy, modern terminal surrounded by greenery with a beautiful blue mosaic on the ceiling. But commuters probably won't see it in person until July at the earliest—and possibly even later than that.

The extension of the No. 7 train to a new station at 34th street and 11th Avenue, which will serve a new cluster of skyscrapers rising along the Hudson River, was originally supposed to open in December 2013.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials said recently that the station would open sometime between April and June. And now the opening of the $2.4 billion project, which has been delayed several times since construction began in 2007, has been pushed back yet again.

Workers are still testing fire alarms, third rail power, escalators and other station components, a time-consuming process that means the station probably won't open until sometime in July, MTA official Anthony D'Amico told a transit committee on Monday.

All major construction work is complete at the terminal, which boasts four high-rise escalators with a vertical 84-foot drop, the steepest in the subway system, and two uniquely inclined elevators, Mr. D'Amico said.
"If you walk through the station today, you will encounter a massive, three-level structure beautifully done, with the utmost quality and attention to detail," Mr. D'Amico said.

Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg celebrated the near-completion of the project in his final days in office by riding a special train from Times Square into the unfinished station. The city paid for much of the project.
========================
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...-delayed-again

Nexis4Jersey Mar 27, 2015 4:41 AM
• Video Link

mrnyc Mar 27, 2015 1:48 PM
the pabt cost someone their life yesterday:


67-year-old man struck, killed by bus at Port Authority Bus Terminal

(PIX11/AP) – Extensive delays are being reported at Port Authority Bus Terminal after a pedestrian was killed at the facility Thursday afternoon.

Port Authority Police spokesman Joe Pentangelo says it happened around 5 p.m. at the bus depot near Times Square. It’s the nation’s busiest bus station, with more than 58 million commuters passing through it last year.

The 67-year-old man, from Garrison, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police aren’t releasing his name while working to notify his family.

Bus Terminal staff are working to set up alternate operations, but urge customers to seek other modes of transportation if possible during this evening’s rush hour. NJ Transit is cross honoring this evening for bus passengers that are able to take the train to get home.

http://pix11.com/2015/03/26/accident...-bus-terminal/

BrownTown Mar 27, 2015 4:34 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by k1052 (Post 6959806)
I half wonder if it would be possible to build a single large bore quad track (2 subway, 2 NEC in a 2x2 stack) tunnel to accomplish both projects more cost effectively.
From studies I've seen for other projects it isn't really the tunneling itself that costs a lot it's the stations. I don't think you would really save much having a single large bore tunnel instead of 4 small bore tunnels. Especially since they would have to diverge at the ends anyways which would mean you would still need the smaller TBMs.

k1052 Mar 27, 2015 8:55 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrownTown (Post 6967410)
From studies I've seen for other projects it isn't really the tunneling itself that costs a lot it's the stations. I don't think you would really save much having a single large bore tunnel instead of 4 small bore tunnels. Especially since they would have to diverge at the ends anyways which would mean you would still need the smaller TBMs.
But having only one project to get money for instead of two would help the odds.

BrownTown Mar 27, 2015 9:55 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by k1052 (Post 6967844)
But having only one project to get money for instead of two would help the odds.
I don't know what the regulations are like in NYC so maybe it's just impossible for them to ever get something done quickly, but IMO the biggest problems with all these MTA projects is how LONG they take. Keep in mind that you don't start paying off a project until it's operational, but you are paying interest on the bonds from the moment they are issued. In long projects this can mean that the delays themselves add billions to the cost (in capitalized interest) in addition to being annoying for everyone who wishes the project was done earlier. Having a project run for 10-15 years because you don't have a revenue stream to finish it in 5 years makes the final cost FAR higher. They need to find a way to get this money up front and tighten the schedules up a lot. If the oil industry can build a 15 Billion dollar facility in 3-4 years why does it take the government 10-15 years? I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the regulations in Texas verse New York, but come on, you can't tell me there is any real engineering reason why these projects can't get done far quicker and the interest payments reduced by billions as a result.

electricron Mar 28, 2015 12:49 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrownTown (Post 6967926)
I don't know what the regulations are like in NYC so maybe it's just impossible for them to ever get something done quickly, but IMO the biggest problems with all these MTA projects is how LONG they take. Keep in mind that you don't start paying off a project until it's operational, but you are paying interest on the bonds from the moment they are issued. In long projects this can mean that the delays themselves add billions to the cost (in capitalized interest) in addition to being annoying for everyone who wishes the project was done earlier. Having a project run for 10-15 years because you don't have a revenue stream to finish it in 5 years makes the final cost FAR higher. They need to find a way to get this money up front and tighten the schedules up a lot. If the oil industry can build a 15 Billion dollar facility in 3-4 years why does it take the government 10-15 years? I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the regulations in Texas verse New York, but come on, you can't tell me there is any real engineering reason why these projects can't get done far quicker and the interest payments reduced by billions as a result.
Interesting and valid points, I think. Texas is not the financial center of America or maybe the world, New York City is. Higher interest costs feeds the New York City economy better than it would in Texas. ;)

Which might explain why New York politicians like deficit spending far more than rural politicians in the fly over states.

k1052 Mar 28, 2015 1:19 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrownTown (Post 6967926)
I don't know what the regulations are like in NYC so maybe it's just impossible for them to ever get something done quickly, but IMO the biggest problems with all these MTA projects is how LONG they take. Keep in mind that you don't start paying off a project until it's operational, but you are paying interest on the bonds from the moment they are issued. In long projects this can mean that the delays themselves add billions to the cost (in capitalized interest) in addition to being annoying for everyone who wishes the project was done earlier. Having a project run for 10-15 years because you don't have a revenue stream to finish it in 5 years makes the final cost FAR higher. They need to find a way to get this money up front and tighten the schedules up a lot. If the oil industry can build a 15 Billion dollar facility in 3-4 years why does it take the government 10-15 years? I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the regulations in Texas verse New York, but come on, you can't tell me there is any real engineering reason why these projects can't get done far quicker and the interest payments reduced by billions as a result.
Presumably the Port Authority would handle the construction of such a project and build out the MTA's portion (except for the 10th ave station) to their spec and turn it over to them when complete. Not that the PA has a particularly good record on this sort of project either. Though it should be much more straightforward since it's all just tunnel building and an above ground terminal station for the 7 at Secaucus (plus a small yard) and bus facility. I still have to believe it would be better to physically combine the projects from a funding perspective even though it increases the overall cost.

I do not have a single pet theory why it's so expensive to build transit in the NYC area other than it's a combination of factors (battling political/regulatory fiefdoms, labor, lack of qualified contractors bidding, recalcitrant partners dragging feet, funding rules, lack of reasonable estimating/oversight) all playing a role.

BrownTown Mar 28, 2015 3:35 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by electricron (Post 6968136)
Which might explain why New York politicians like deficit spending far more than rural politicians in the fly over states.
Not to start a whole shit-slinging competition, but Texas has a larger GDP than New York so calling it a "fly-over" state is a little silly. It's not just a Republican vs. Democrat thing though since even other liberal places like Seattle seem to be able to build rail projects much quicker and more cost effectively. And if we're talking the 7 train to Secaucus that's not tunneling under Manhattan either. The land costs and station in New Jersey shouldn't be any more difficult than Seattle would be.

C. Mar 28, 2015 3:23 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila (Post 6959596)
Seriously... maybe extending the 7 to Secaucus is needed after all, not as a replacement for Amtrak Gateway but as a replacement for rebuilding Port Authority.

The staging is easy, too - if you finish the subway line, then you can continue to use half of the current Port Authority while the other half remains in use.

At the end of it, you wind up with 10 tracks across the Hudson instead of the current 6, plus the XBL.

All of this together would cost about $20bn at New York prices, though.

Yes!! I view this as great news! (Obviously the Port Authority needs replacement but the rejection forces the 7 line extension to Secaucus junction back on the table).

Read the plan developed by Parsons Brinckerhoff here: http://www.nycedc.com/sites/default/...April_2013.pdf

The plan also calls for construction of a new bus terminal to handle the NJ Transit buses along with any private competitors. That will reduce bus congestion at the Lincoln tunnel and the PABT. A new PABT will eventually be built, but the 7 line extension needs all the help it can get and I'd rate it as a higher priority project.

chris08876 Mar 28, 2015 6:30 PM
Authorities take down NYC commuter train heroin ring

https://thenypost.files.wordpress.co...0&h=480&crop=1

Quote:
They put the “H” in Hudson Line.

​Authorities busted a major heroin ring involving dealers who used Metro North trains packed with commuters to transport drugs upstate from New York City.

Officials said unsuspecting train riders on their way home from work were sitting next to dealers and couriers who were carrying bundles of heroin on trains from Harlem to Beacon before meeting with other dealers across the Hudson River in Newburgh.

“Members of the ring were also transporting drugs on Greyhound buses from the Port Authority to Pittsburgh for distribution,” state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said.

According to an indictment, 13 people were charged for their alleged roles in a heroin distribution network, and were hit with a total of 179 counts.
The investigation, dubbed “Operation Iron Horse,” was the third major drug bust in as many weeks.

The 13 defendants were charged with conspiring to distribute heroin from New York City to Orange, Sullivan and Nassau counties and Pittsburgh.

“We have these men on public transportation sitting next to families, to tourists, carrying huge quantities of deadly drugs and dirty money. They clearly thought no one was the wiser, but our investigators were watching and listening.”
====================================
http://nypost.com/2015/03/26/authori...n-heroin-ring/

chris08876 Mar 30, 2015 10:10 PM
Citi Bike Gets a Software Update Ahead of Planned Expansion

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/i...0330163324.jpg

Quote:
Citi Bike got a software upgrade last weekend, the latest step in an overhaul promised by the new operator of New York City’s bicycle-sharing system.

The back-end software’s replacement prompted the company that runs Citi Bike to take the system offline from Friday night into Saturday afternoon.

The outage was shorter than expected, but the Citi Bike operator’s chief executive nonetheless apologized on Monday for the short notice given to riders. He said the update was a prelude to a larger-scale improvement for the system.

“We are creating a Citi Bike for New Yorkers that is up to the demands of New York,” said Jay Walder, a former head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority who now runs Motivate, the company formerly known as Alta Bicycle Share Inc. “There’s no excuses anymore.”

Mr. Walder said the software would allow a new mobile-phone app the company unveiled over the weekend to offer more accurate, real-time information to riders looking for bikes or docks to park them. He said the information would be updated every 10 seconds.

Mr. Walder, who was speaking at a news conference at Motivate’s warehouse in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, offered what amounted to a status update on fixes to Citi Bike’s technology, hardware and operational issues.

Ever since its launch in May 2013, Citi Bike had been bedeviled by software prone to malfunction; at one point, a bankrupt supplier; and a cash crunch. Riders have complained about difficulty finding bicycles or even places to park them at about 330 docking stations in Manhattan, generally below Central Park, and parts of Brooklyn.

As Motivate’s predecessor company struggled, city transportation officials prodded it to secure new financing and a plan to expand in New York City. The result was a takeover of the company by outside investors who installed Mr. Walder as CEO as a part of plan announced last year to double Citi Bike’s footprint to 12,000 bikes by 2017.

Mr. Walder said the company had overhauled 4,253 Citi Bikes as of Monday morning and would fix its entire 6,000-bicycle fleet by summer.

The bike-share’s individual docking stations would also get new software and hardware in the next few months. And as Citi Bike expands, about 90 new stations are expected to come this year to neighborhoods including Long Island City in Queens and Greenpoint, Williamsburg, and Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn.

Mr. Walder said Citi Bike’s expansion would begin in the latter half of this year, but he said he wasn’t able to offer a more precise date. He also declined to say where Motivate would get bikes needed for Citi Bike’s expansion. Bike-shares around the country have been hobbled in part by suppliers’ inability to provide bikes for the systems.

“We are in the process of developing a new bicycle, and we will have more to say on that in a little while,” Mr. Walder said, adding: “We need to be a company that can supply bicycles as a bicycle company.”
============================
http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2015...n/?mod=WSJBlog

Nexis4Jersey Apr 1, 2015 8:40 AM
A New PATH Station West of Journal SQ?

http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_...e=latest_story

scalziand Apr 1, 2015 9:14 PM
^That could lead to some very interesting developments, given the activity happening at Journal Square right now.

mrnyc Apr 6, 2015 11:49 AM
yesterday i saw this new east side access vent i guess on roosevelt island in front of the subway entrance


http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1ebzqzrr.jpg

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psflwltjqs.jpg

mrnyc Apr 6, 2015 2:10 PM
this ny daily news editorial spells it out well enough and its so true, but we all know this. the questions are what to do about it:


Aaron M. Renn: Billions of infrastructure bucks burned in NY

Another boondoggle in cash suck city


Ten billion dollars — for a bus station. And if other projects are any guide, this price tag for a Port Authority Bus Terminal replacement is only going up from there.

That’s after we’ve committed: $4.2 billion at the PATH World Trade Center station; $1.4 billion for the Fulton St. subway station; $11 billion for the East Side Access project; $4.5 billion for just two miles of the Second Ave. Subway, and $2.3 billion for a single station extension of the 7-train.

Having grown numb to multi-billion price tags for building almost anything, New Yorkers might not know just how messed up all this is. In any other American city, even just one of these fiascoes might well have sunk the entire town.

For example, former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley attempted to construct an underground “superstation” in the middle of downtown for an express train he hoped to build to O’Hare Airport. Mothballed when the shell was complete after blowing the budget, this was one of his biggest boondoggles. But it still only cost his city $200 million — lemonade-stand money by New York standards.

New York even looks bad in a worst-case comparison with London’s $22 billion Crossrail project. For that money, London is getting a 73-mile train line, including 26 miles of new tunnels, and service at 40 stations, including 10 brand new ones.

Why do New York’s projects cost so much? Disturbingly, no one actually knows.

We know some of the possible culprits. A combination of factors such as Buy American rules, union featherbedding, unique rail standards, excessive environmental review requirements for transit and our litigious culture all play a role. Fragmented governance and a lack of accountability may be keys as well.

None of this has stopped our leaders from promising more and more big transportation projects, often based on shoddy research. Facing a $15-billion, five-year hole in the MTA capital plan, Gov. Cuomo out of the blue announced a dubious LaGuardia airtrain nobody was asking for.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie flushing $600 million down the drain before he unilaterally pulled the plug on badly needed new rail tunnels under the Hudson. Not only was that project overpriced, it wouldn’t have connected to existing rail lines but instead dumped passengers at a deep new station 180 feet under 34th St.

Also unable to work and play well with others, the LIRR is building its own deep station underneath Grand Central for its East Side Access project, this one 140 feet (about 12 stories) below ground.

How does New York get away with this level of foolishness?

Money covers a multitude of sins. Gotham’s powerhouse economy spins off oceans of cash. This makes it all too easy for politicians to pretend to fix immediate problems by throwing more money at them.

New York is also so desirable that people are willing to put up with a lot to live and do business here. That includes overcrowded trains and subpar airports, not just high rents and taxes.

But not even this region can make bad decisions forever without reaping the consequences. New Jersey commuters face two years of pain to repair Hurricane Sandy damage to the lone pair of Hudson rail tunnels. The MTA has a huge hole in its capital plan and troubling levels of debt. Declining subway service levels and over-packed trains are a reality today.

Make no mistake, New York needs to spend money on its transit system — especially to keep basic service at a high level. But wasting billions upon billions of dollars on a half-dozen high-profile projects gets us no closer to that crucial goal.

Mayor de Blasio just went to Boston to join other mayors in calling for more federal transportation spending. But how can New York demand Congress do its job if the city and region won’t take care of its own by doing its part to stop this insanity?

Renn is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and a contributing editor at its quarterly magazine City Journal.

BrownTown Apr 6, 2015 6:19 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrnyc (Post 6978873)
But how can New York demand Congress do its job if the city and region won’t take care of its own by doing its part to stop this insanity?
This right here sums it up nicely. I agree that the US needs to spend far more on transportation, but if NYC doesn't have the political will to reign in the NIMBYs, unions and other special interests then how can they expect Congress to trust them with Billions of dollars in federal money? Better to spend that money somewhere that CAN actually get projects built on time and on budget. Every time a project like the 7 line extension gets delayed with no good explanation and every time a project like ESA gets a billion dollar price increase with no good explanation it makes all the Tea Party people in Washington look more and more right and makes it less and less likely that Congress will approve more money for projects like these. As the old quote goes, "success breeds success" and if NYC can actually get a project done successfully on time and on budget (or at least close) then it will greatly increase their chances of getting more money in the future.

mrnyc Apr 6, 2015 8:03 PM
^ aaaaand right on time, on top of that stuff there is this:



Whistleblower alleges pay scam at Second Avenue Subway project

A Second Avenue Subway subcontractor filled its job site with cheap apprentices, then billed at a much steeper rate, a former worker charges.

“There’s a common saying down there — the MTA is the ATM. You get money if you’re standing,” disgusted whistleblower Alexander Maack told The Post about contractors’ attitudes toward big projects. “Just show up for the day and you make the boss a profit.”

The MTA Inspector General’s Office confirmed that it is investigating the allegation.


more:
http://nypost.com/2015/04/06/whistle...avenue-subway/

Randomguy34 Apr 6, 2015 8:17 PM
So, what are the odds that this will stall the SAS project even longer?

BrownTown Apr 6, 2015 9:00 PM
I really don't like calling for people to make less money, but at the same time it seems pretty hard to justify a mechanic making over $90/hr. Since we are talking about Federal funding I'm not sure most people in the country are going to have a good feeling about making $25/hr and having their tax money go to someone making so much more than them. I know NYC is expensive and all, but it's not THAT much more expensive. The cost of union labor in NYC is the single largest reason why projects there cost so much more than in other places. NYC politicians need to take on these unions before they start asking for more money.

EDIT: Also, if people are proven to have been defrauding the city like is suggested in that article then those people need to go to jail. It's so stupid in our country how people get arrested all the time for stealing a few bucks, but nobody ever gets prosecuted when millions are stolen.


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