Four articles related to transportation in Ithaca.
All from the Ithaca Journal.
1. The first is a street a block from my old apartment building, nice pic (typical Ithaca weather
).
The Board of Public Works of the City of Ithaca is getting ready to do design work prior to rebuilding Stewart Avenue between State Street and University Ave. The street is in need of complete reconstruction due to the deterioration of the concrete under the bricks, but work will not start until 2012 at earliest. The bricked surfaced area will be replaced with clay paving similar to that used in the 300 block of East State Street. (SIMON WHEELER / Staff Photo)
City plans Stewart Avenue reconstruction, but no date set
By Liz Lawyer •elawyer@gannett.com • January 12, 2011, 8:10 pm
A capital project to repair the potholed surface of Stewart Avenue is moving forward, but is still more than a year from getting started.
The City of Ithaca Board of Public Works is set to approve a $224,960 contract to design the project, but tabled the resolution Wednesday because it left out a designation for the project's environmental review.
Because the project will only redo work on an existing street, an in-depth environmental review is not required under the law, said Superintendent of Public Works Bill Gray. However, board members asked that the resolution explain that.
Gray said he expects the board to approve the amended resolution at the next meeting.
Funding for designing the project was approved in 2008, said city engineer Tom West. Designing and planning the project is expected to take 15 to 18 months, he said.
The project will include repaving the street between State St./Martin Luther King Jr. Street and University Avenue, and will replace the brick surface in the historic districts on Stewart Avenue.
West said the replacement of the brick surface rather than putting in asphalt was an important aspect of the project.
According to Gray, when the brick paving on Route 79 was removed and replaced with asphalt, an agreement was made that the brick on Stewart Avenue would be maintained and eventually replaced.
Also to be included in the project are intersection improvements, reconstruction of sidewalks, replacement of the traffic signal at State/Martin Luther King Jr. Street and the flashing signal at Buffalo Street, and any longterm utility upgrades needed beneath the road.
Funding for the project itself has not yet been secured, but Gray said he hopes to have the designs ready should state or federal funding for "shovel-ready" projects become available.
"It may not be done for a year or three," Gray said. "For us it's important to get the design work complete."
Cornell University has pledged to contribute to the project when the time comes, Gray said.
Here's the link:
http://www.theithacajournal.com/arti...ut-no-date-set
2. Not bad for a small city.
Neighbors: Ithaca Carshare rolls past 1,000 members
By Matt Hayes •mmhayes@gannett.com • January 12, 2011, 7:15 pm
The act of sharing, as most people first experience as small children, is not always easy. Now in its third year of operation, Ithaca Carshare has managed to make that act seem simple, welcoming its 1,000th member in early 2011.
The nonprofit is a template of logistics and common sense, explains member Elizabeth Harrod.
"Carsharing encourages you to plan ahead and to combine trips, and it also means you don't ever have to worry about taking a car to the shop," she said.
The Ithaca Carshare fleet includes 12 cars and a truck. Carshare credits its new Easy Access plan, designed for limited-income households, as a way to provide reliable transportation to Ithacans of all income levels. Federal grant funds have helped significantly reduce rates to members within eligible income limits.
Here's the link:
http://www.theithacajournal.com/arti...+1+000+members
3. When reading the numbers for this one, please remember Ithaca is a small city, but still nice to see folks using the bus.
TCAT breaks ridership record for fourth straight year
By Liz Lawyer •elawyer@gannett.com • January 7, 2011, 6:15 pm
Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit broke its own ridership records for the fourth consecutive year in 2010, with more than 3.57 million rides.
TCAT's Service and Operations Analyst Doug Swarts said reports from other municipal transportation services are that ridership is generally trending down in most places, while TCAT saw a 6.3 percent increase.
TCAT General Manager Joe Turcotte attributed the jump in ridership to TCAT's implementation of more efficient and streamlined routes that went into effect a year ago. TCAT also launched a new fare collection system, called RideLogic, featuring the rechargeable Tcard. The new system, created by Ithaca-based Black Box Computer Consulting, enables TCAT to better track ridership and adjust routes based on demand.
Turcotte predicts with increasing gas prices, TCAT will continue to gain ridership in 2011.
"In a strained economy, more and more people -- and the economy as a whole -- become dependent on a sound public transit system," he said.
Turcotte said TCAT will continue to search for additional savings in 2011.
"We're looking for creative ways to save money," he said. "We're very lean today, and we're working hard to keep the level of service that we have."
Swarts also said he believes the new route system has captured more ridership. In addition, Swarts said, the new electronic fare collection system provides for a much more accurate accounting of rides that may have been missed by the former paper pass system.
"This is all very exciting," Swarts said of the new ridership numbers. "We now have tangible proof that our new route system is an overwhelming success. In addition, our ability to track and study real-time data with RideLogic enables us to continuously take the pulse of our passengers and make adjustments as needed."
TCAT's historical ridership data and percentage year-to-year change:
Year Riders Pct. Change
2006 3,065,309 -0.9%
2007 3,106,215 1.3%
2008 3,317,716 6.8%
2009 3,351,817 1.0%
2010 3,577,579 6.3%
Here's the link:
http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps...=2011101070341
4. Once again, the numbers aren't large, but this is encouraging.
Passenger traffic soars to record at Ithaca airport
2010 airline increase spurs lower fares
By Liz Lawyer •elawyer@gannett.com • January 12, 2011, 12:00 am
For the first time, the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport had more than 120,000 passengers pass through its gates in 2010.
A total 121,334 passenger boardings beat a previous record for the airport of 114,154 boardings in 1990. In December, 76.2 percent of available seats on flights out of Ithaca were filled, compared to 71.7 percent during the same period in 2009 and 61.5 percent in 2008.
"In a recession, that's pretty amazing," airport manager Bob Nicholas said. "It flies in the face of what's happening elsewhere."
Nicholas said Ithaca is bucking the trend at other airports because air service has become more competitive here.
"The reason it's different from most other airports is because we happen to have gained enough air service that the air fares are now competitive," Nicholas said. "There are three airlines competing for service here, and as you know, competition brings down prices ... We used to lose half our passengers to Syracuse because their prices were so reasonable compared to ours. Our airfares are cheaper than Syracuse now."
Nearly half of the flights out of the airport are US Airways flights, with Continental and Delta accounting for about 22 percent and 30 percent of the flights, respectively.
Nicholas said as a smaller airport, Ithaca has fewer flight options, but makes up for it in other ways, such as short check-in and security lines and more personable employees.
"Regular travelers are tired of dealing with larger airports," he said.
Here's the link:
http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps...=2011301120004