New York City - Transit News

[k1052]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Well, among the various carve-out proposals is this:

Free subway transfers for those commuting from 18 Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road stations in the Bronx and Queens

Presumably this would make transit a more realistic option for those living in "transit deserts" beyond the reach of the subway that nonetheless have LIRR or Metro North stops.

I'm thinking it's more the high cost of LIRR and MNRR tickets than the cost of NYCT subway fare for transfers keeping riders off in those areas. Tying some fare equalization for city neighborhoods served by new capacity might be a better idea. LIRR when the ESA/3rd main track opens and MNRR when Penn Access happens.

[Crawford]

One of the weirdest lies continually promulgated by the opponents is the "transit desert" narrative. There is no such thing.

There's nowhere in the Five Boroughs where you don't have nearby bus service connecting to rail, or express buses. People who drive have other options and are making a choice, and that choice will no longer be as heavily subsidized.

But the city also needs to institute parking permits. Currently nonresidents occupy a huge share of on-street parking spaces. Congestion pricing + parking permits will make an enormous difference.

[mrnyc]

more important than that is the city needs to take out street lanes and widen sidewalks. the steady increase in population of the city along with tourism demand it.

[k1052]

Originally Posted by Crawford

One of the weirdest lies continually promulgated by the opponents is the "transit desert" narrative. There is no such thing.

There's nowhere in the Five Boroughs where you don't have nearby bus service connecting to rail, or express buses. People who drive have other options and are making a choice, and that choice will no longer be as heavily subsidized.

But the city also needs to institute parking permits. Currently nonresidents occupy a huge share of on-street parking spaces. Congestion pricing + parking permits will make an enormous difference.

While MNRR or LIRR run through a bunch of hoods it's not necessarily a given that enough people can actually afford to utilize those services at current pricing.

Permit parking and tow absolutely anything not registered in the zone. All hourly parking to a demand model and rates rising with CPI annually. More loading zones...a shit ton more. Impound all sidewalk parkers. Eliminate the entire placard program.

Originally Posted by mrnyc

more important than that is the city needs to take out street lanes and widen sidewalks. the steady increase in population of the city along with tourism demand it.

Do this too. Plus more barrier protected bike lanes. Also expand the Brooklyn bridge pedestrian path immediately.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by k1052

While MNRR or LIRR run through a bunch of hoods it's not necessarily a given that enough people can actually afford to utilize those services at current pricing.

Agreed, but that can be fixed. Cityticket already offers lower fares and can be expanded. And those areas tend to be affluent, so it isn't like you have lots of poor folks in, say, Douglaston, or Riverdale, without transit options.

And there are always the cheaper options of express buses or the local buses to the closest subway stop. Someone in, say, Mill Basin can take the bus to the end of the nearest train line, or take an express bus directly to Manhattan.

Originally Posted by k1052

Permit parking and tow absolutely anything not registered in the zone. All hourly parking to a demand model and rates rising with CPI annually. More loading zones...a shit ton more. Impound all sidewalk parkers. Eliminate the entire placard program.

Agree with all this 100%. Congestion pricing should just be the first step to a rational regional mobility plan.

And, yeah, sidewalks, especially the avenues in Manhattan, desperately need to be widened. Some, like Lex, 3rd, 2nd and 8th are ridiculous relevant to road width and pedestrian demand. They were all shrunk in the 40's and 50's. It's time to take the space back.

[k1052]

Originally Posted by Crawford

And, yeah, sidewalks, especially the avenues in Manhattan, desperately need to be widened. Some, like Lex, 3rd, 2nd and 8th are ridiculous relevant to road width and pedestrian demand. They were all shrunk in the 40's and 50's. It's time to take the space back.

I'd pedestrianize 34th from 6th to 9th, basically all of the financial district, take a lane away from every avenue from 7th to 2nd for more sidewalk, and close the area around/through Rockefeller Center to everything but commercial traffic and make those streets shared with pedestrians. To start.

[mrnyc]

the cops are trying to shut down placard reforms


https://www.amny.com/news/placard-abuse-nypd-1.29035668

[k1052]

It's crazy how BDB has enabled that program to explode and also do nothing about the rampant fraud/abuse of people with fakes or by people who are not eligible. it's like he won't be satisfied until cars cover every sidewalk in the city and people have to scramble over top of them.

The waste/rot that he's caused and permitted as mayor wrt transportation is extraordinary. Hopefully somebody who at least appears to give a shit and is willing to reprioritize will take his office when the term is up (Corey Johnson would work). The city could greatly improve the ease of getting around very quickly.

[mrnyc]

no surprize, but the new ferry system is heavily subsidized:

https://ny.curbed.com/platform/amp/2...ayor-de-blasio

[k1052]

Deals starting to come into focus.

ALBANY — A congestion pricing program for New York City would provide $1 billion for the Long Island Rail Road under an agreement struck Thursday in state budget negotiations, according to an official familiar with the deal.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's congestion pricing plan would raise billions of dollars in tolls charged to motorists driving into Manhattan below 60th Street. The aim is to reduce traffic congestion while raising money to fix New York City’s subways and commuter rails.

The Long Island Rail Road would get 10 percent of the revenue, the Metro North commuter rail system would get 10 percent, and NYC Transit, which includes subways and buses, would get 80 percent of revenue, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the budget deal hadn't yet been announced.

https://www.newsday.com/news/region-...any-1.29094300

Its a bit aggravating since the subsidy the MTA incurs per LIRR/MNRR rider is already waaay higher than NYCT riders. Also the money pit of the East Side Access which just incinerates piles of cash on contact. If this is the deal it could have been worse though.

Hopefully the dynamic pricing stays in so that the end goal can actually be achieved.

[Nexis4Jersey]

ᴴᴰ R142 2 Express Train via Bowling Green / Wall St Announcements - To Flatbush Avenue from 241 St

• Video Link

One of the most confusing reroutes, here are the automated announcements for a rerouted 2 train running via South Ferry Loop to Wall St via Bowling green and then back down to Brooklyn. Normally the conductor skips the South Ferry and Bowling green stops, but i managed to piece together the full program.

[mrnyc]

^ there are some insane weekend reroutes, especially lately with all the troubles the system is having.

we were in queens plaza last weekend around 10pm when a train finally came in and they said, oh btw everybody on this is the last train of the night the station is shutting down. ooh kaaaay. ugh.

that said, there are also plenty of common reroutes that regular riders would know, like 5 trains running on the westside, that confuse the beejezus out of visitors.

[mrnyc]

nyc ferry system slants as an amenity for the rich:


https://nypost.com/2019/03/31/city-f...t-new-yorkers/

[mrnyc]

details to be worked out but the congestion pricing measure passed late last night.

the big thing is the money goes into a lockbox for mta so cuomo cant dip into it:


The money from the congestion pricing proposal would go into a "lockbox" for MTA capital projects, along with new revenue from an internet sales tax and progressive mansion tax. All three together could be bonded against to raise a total $25 billion in new funding.


more:
https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/03...stion-pricing/

https://www.amny.com/transit/mta-con...omo-1.29209432

[plutonicpanda]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

hay ny

i really don't care, do you?




Trump budget doesn't include Gateway tunnel funding, U.S. DOT says

The Gateway Program would bring critical repairs to the damaged Hudson River tunnels that serve Amtrak and New Jersey Transit.



By Vincent Barone
Updated March 11, 2019 9:31 PM




President Donald Trump continued to spurn the Hudson River’s failing commuter rail tunnels, as elected officials stared down a “doomsday scenario” for the region.

The White House’s proposed 2020 budget does not include any new funding for the stalled Gateway Program, which in part would replace the two 110-year-old, Sandy-damaged Hudson River tunnels — a vital, 2.5-mile link for hundreds of thousands of daily commuters who take the rails between New York and New Jersey.

“Those transit projects are local responsibilities, and elected officials from New York and New Jersey are the ones accountable for them,” said U.S. Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary Jeffrey Rosen on Monday, during a budget briefing call with reporters.


more:
https://www.amny.com/transit/trump-b...nel-1.28393510

This is very frustrating as is the budget for 2020. I thought we were promised a major infrastructure overhaul... For the 2nd year in a row, we’re told it probably isn’t happening this year. Not to spur a political debate, but it will be interesting President Trump uses infrastructure reform as a platform for re-election.

[mrnyc]

sayonara to the metrocard — mta and regional tap payment rollout details:


https://www.amny.com/transit/metroca...mny-1.29297988

[Busy Bee]

Originally Posted by plutonicpanda

This is very frustrating as is the budget for 2020. I thought we were promised a major infrastructure overhaul... For the 2nd year in a row, we’re told it probably isn’t happening this year. Not to spur a political debate, but it will be interesting President Trump uses infrastructure reform as a platform for re-election.

You thought that was actually going to happen? Besides, the pub's gave all the money away to the rich and powerful in the tax scam bill. You're placing your hopes for an infrastructure revolution in the wrong hands. You want massive transformative infrastructure investment? Elect Democrats!

[M II A II R II K]

Pied-à-terre tax died for ridiculous reasons

https://cityandstateny.com/articles/...s-reasons.html

.....

- For all the relief among mass transit riders at having secured congestion pricing as a revenue stream, absent additional measures, repairs to New York City’s ailing subway system will remain underfunded. The measure is expected to bring in $15 billion over 10 years, while the MTA’s Fast Forward Plan for repairs and upgrades will cost an estimated $40 billion over a decade. --- Aware of this shortfall, the state Legislature considered adding a tax to the state budget that would make the world’s most privileged denizens contribute a little bit to a city from which they profit handsomely: a pied-à-terre tax. The levy would have fallen on owners of homes worth $5 million or more in New York City that are not their primary residence and are not rented out to a full-time tenant. It would have been progressive, with gradually rising rates.

- According to a Wall Street Journal analysis, the pied-à-terre tax would have raised $471 million per year, half of which would have come from just 280 homes worth more than $25 million. New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer found the tax would have raised $650 million. --- Under pressure from their generous benefactors in the real estate industry, Democratic legislators and Gov. Andrew Cuomo opted to instead tax a far broader range of actual New Yorkers and come up with less revenue, imposing a “mansion tax” surcharge on anyone buying a home in New York City for over $2 million and raising the real estate transfer tax on homes selling for more than $3 million. This is expected to raise only $365 million per year on average, and it is a much less consistent revenue stream than a tax assessed on a property every year because in years like 2009, when credit froze after the Great Recession, far fewer sales are made.

.....

[Busy Bee]

of course

[mrnyc]

corrupt nitwits

lets see who got breaks on new homes, apts and office leases for doing that.