Summit offers transit solutions
North Shore railway, Goethals
twin, expanded express bus service among proposals
Staten Island Advance
Saturday, March 20, 2004
Staten Island simply can't build its way out of its
current traffic crisis, according to a conference of transportation
authorities that met yesterday at the College of Staten Island.
The all-day summit was convened by the Staten Island
Project of CSI, which focuses on public affairs.
About 25 transportation officials, academics,
experts, advocates, elected officials and stakeholders concluded
that improved public transportation and targeted, incremental
changes in borough infrastructure could ease congestion in the face
of continual soaring population growth.
Many participants, including an audience of about 75
transportation observers, advocates, college students, members of
the public and others, expressed enthusiasm about a proposed
revitalization of the North Shore railway, an Island transit
connection with the Hudson-Bergen light rail system in Bayonne,
expanded express bus service, and the possibility of securing
federal funding for transportation initiatives.
For thousands of Islanders, congestion and a quality
of life have deteriorated as the borough's population has grown.
"There's no question that Staten Island staggers
under the physical and social changes that have resulted from this
huge population growth," said Dr. Marlene Springer, president of
CSI, on opening the conference.
Iris Weinshall, city Transportation commissioner,
read a letter on behalf of Mayor Michael Bloomberg before saying
that "Transportation in the borough of Staten Island is one of the
most important long-term initiatives facing the city."
EXPRESSWAY PROBLEMS
Many of those present said the expressway is the
heart of borough traffic problems.
"The Staten Island Expressway is Staten Island's
main street," said Peter King, region planning and program manager
of the state Department of Transportation.
Resolving problems on the expressway, which carries
an average of 150,000 vehicles daily, would help resolve some
related traffic issues in neighborhoods adjacent to the road, King
said.
"When it's congested, traffic diverts to the local
road system, and that traffic, which shouldn't be there, is there
mixing with local traffic, and the levels of congestion rise," he
said.
The state DOT plans to extend an existing bus-only
lane from the Staten Island Railway overpass to Slosson Avenue, King
said.
Island bridge use has outstripped estimates,
according to Port Authority official Joann Papageorgis.
"With the best information, all of our indicators
were exceeded," she said. "It's not that we're telling you the
traffic is coming; the traffic is here and it looks like it's going
to continue."
GOETHALS PROPOSALS
The Port Authority is undertaking a study of
modernization options for the Goethals Bridge, including a possible
twin, and looking at building a fast-ferry site in Midland Beach,
Ms. Papageorgis said.
Audience member Tamara Coombs, chairwoman of the
Staten Island Ferry Riders Committee, said she wanted to hear more
talk about ferry options. "Ferries can't answer all needs, but they
can definitely play a larger role for commuters," she said.
For thousands of Islanders, escalating congestion is
beyond an annoyance, becoming a destabilizing factor that hits at
the borough's livelihood.
"The traffic is choking our ability to do business,"
said Robert Cutrona, a board member of Staten Island Chamber of
Commerce.
Audience member William Graebe, who owns Graebe
Financial Service in West Brighton, said police should crack down on
traffic snarls around schools caused by double-parking parents and
caretakers.
Representatives of the city Department of
Transportation's borough office said their agency targets problems
in coordination, such as the school double-parking, with the Police
Department and the borough president's office.
But the core problem is the Island's roads, which
were built according to the way traffic used to be, said David
Stein, project manager of the Bureau of Traffic Operations, Division
of Traffic Planning. Many borough streets are obsolete, he said.
CAR CONGESTION
He also noted that Islanders have more cars than do
residents of any other borough.
"People are using cars at all times of day, all
different kinds of trips, all different kinds of roads, and also
weekend trips. And those roadways, like Victory, when people are
going to the Mall, those roadways cannot accommodate the amount of
traffic."
While some might be tempted to recommend more
expressway lanes, or to widen the Island's narrow streets, many
transportation experts say that direction should be resisted.
Alex Marshall, author of "How Cities Work: Suburbs,
Sprawl and the Roads Not Taken," warned participants that increasing
road capacity only leads to increased traffic problems. "Don't try
to build your way out of congestion," Marshall said. "You at least
have the bones of a mass-transit system."
Norman Silverman, senior director of route and
system planning for New York City Transit, said there was "excellent
route coverage" of the borough by the agency's 26 express routes,
and by four privately operated routes.
But officials of the bus drivers' union told the
Advance they wanted to see money go to increased and faster bus
service before big-ticket items like fast ferries or the North Shore
railway were addressed.
"How about giving us an [High Occupancy Vehicle
lane] all the way from Staten Island to Manhattan, both ways?" asked
Vincent Serapiglia, vice president of the Amalgamated Transit Union,
which represents the Island's bus drivers.
by Seth Solomonow
Reprinted here with permission from the
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