Mark Wildonger, planner for Scenic Hudson in Poughkeepsie, reviews transit options.
Out of more than 80 alternatives to make mass-transit more accessible for Orange County commuters, Metro-North”™s West of Hudson Regional Transit Access Study is down to 22.
The options were presented at a public meeting at Newburgh”™s Hilton Garden Inn on June 1.
The agency has partnered with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the New York State Department of Transportation and New Jersey Transit in the multimillion-dollar study to improve transportation for west-of-Hudson commuters. The goal is to get people into the city by mass transit and make Stewart Airport more accessible to both commuters and intra-county travelers.
The Federal Transportation Authority is the lead agency on the project.
Since the first public hearing in December 2008, the agencies have spent six months slashing the least desirable options, including ferry service from Newburgh to Manhattan that was considered too costly and weather-dependent. Similarly, a rail connection between the Cornwall-Salisbury Mils train station to the Beacon train station via the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge was deemed too costly, involving too many environmental impact studies and land takings.
Elise Van der Linde, the study”™s project manager, pointed out that Orange County has surpassed the entire state in both population growth and employment. “The highway improvements being made for the region are not enough to support the growing number of commuters … we need to get cars off the road and more people using mass transit.”
The least expensive, most reliable and flexible appears to be bus rapid transit (BRT) service, linking commuters both to trains and the airport. Expansion of park-and-rides throughout the county would make bus transit an efficient and less costly alternative to expanding train service, especially in the current economy. “Special lanes could accommodate buses, and lights can be timed so when a BRT is approaching it will automatically switch to green, keeping traffic moving faster,” said Van der Linde.
BRT would also eliminate the need for land takings and environmental impact studies.
After the presentation, John Czamanske, deputy commissioner of planning for Orange County, said the Access to the Region”™s Core (ARC) project, new tunnels that will double capacity into an expanded Penn Station, is the most viable option for commuters to get into Manhattan by rail, even if it means taking a bus to get to the nearest train station.
“ARC is already under way (and) will be finished by 2017,” he said. “There”™s been a lot of talk about a one-seat ride over the Tappan Zee Bridge for people on the west side of the river. But who knows how long it will take for those plans to come to fruition, or if rail service will be added to the new bridge, if and when it is built. There”™s no money for it now; however, ARC is happening as we speak, and shovels are already in the ground.”
Sue Metzger, representing Orange County on the MTA board, said rail service could be expanded on the Port Jervis line, which has the land for the second set of tracks. “There were originally two, so there”™d be no question of land takings,” she said.
The four-hour public hearing drew some 100 officials, residents and stakeholders, and Van der Linde said public comment would not be limited but welcomed in a timely manner. While no date has been set, those working on the study plan to meet again before year-end to finalize phase one of the three-part study and whittle the current transit proposals to two or three.
The first phase of the study is expected to be completed by the end of this year. It came with a price tag of some $4 million, which has been fully funded, Van der Linde said. Funding for the last two phases has not been determined.
To learn more about Metro-North”™s plans and the study, visit www.mta.info/mta/planning/whrtas.
