Talk Bronx New York

Commuters wait on a platform as a train arrives at a subway station in New York

The number of riders ranting about fare hikes and service cuts at recent MTA hearings has doubled since 2007, according to figures provided by the authority.

The Nov. 8 midtown Manhattan hearing was likely the longest of its kind in decades, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

More than 700 transit riders attended the gripe session that lasted more than seven hours, ending at 1:26 a.m.

“The stakes are much higher than the stakes were before,” MTA CEO Elliot Sander said Monday.

Unless Albany comes through with a bailout, the MTA has said fares will rise between 25% and 30%.

Some subway and bus routes also will be axed to help plug massive budget gaps, officials have said.

Nearly 350 speakers have voiced opinions at the four hearings held in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island since November. The Bronx hearing is Wednesday night. Read more..

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The red lines show southbound routes through the South Bronx via the “free” Third Ave. Bridge and the tolled Triborough. The blue line charts the toll-free northbound route from the FDR across the Willis Avenue Bridge.

All the gnashing of teeth over East River bridge tolls has for the most part drowned out discussion of the Ravitch Commission’s proposal to charge motorists for Harlem River crossings as well. Though the tolls would be substantially lower — matching the (currently) $2 transit base fare — it’s still too much for two officials from the Bronx and Upper Manhattan.

From Thursday’s Daily News [1], reporting on Richard Ravitch’s testimony to state Assembly members: Read more..

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Borough President Adolfo Carrión wants to rack ‘em up.

He’s launched a drive to make the Bronx more bicycle-friendly by getting more bike racks.

A new report, “Bike the Bronx,” calls for exploring locations where bike racks could be installed. It urges residents, community groups and businesses to ask the city Department of Transportation to install more of them in their neighborhoods.

The report was released as 5,000 biking fans turned out Oct. 19 for the annual Tour de Bronx.

With high rates of asthma from traffic on the borough’s major highways, diabetes from obesity and the high cost of gas and maintaining cars, the report says using a bike to exercise and commute to work is a triple-winner.

It cites statistics showing the Bronx has the largest number of people in the city who drive short distances alone to work, saying that with more convenient bike racks installed, that number could be significantly lowered.

“If ever there was a time to make the Bronx and all of New York City a friendlier place for bicycling, it is now,” said Carrión. Read more..

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New York City Commuters Face Delays for Cross Bronx Roadwork

Nov. 29 (Bloomberg) — Commuters heading into New York City across the George Washington Bridge were delayed as much as an hour this morning because of construction work on the Cross Bronx Parkway Expressway that’s scheduled to continue into next week.

The New York State Department of Transportation has been doing repaving on the eastbound Cross Bronx Expressway between the George Washington Bridge and Jerome Avenue from 11 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. every day this week, closing two of four lanes between the bridge and the Major Deegan Expressway and two of three lanes between the Major Deegan and Jerome Avenue, according to a statement on the city’s Web site.

The work also forced closure of the George Washington Bridge’s eastbound lower level and the ramp from the northbound Henry Hudson Parkway to the eastbound Cross Bronx Expressway, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the bridge.

Last night, two eastbound lanes of the bridge’s upper level were also closed, along with the left lane of the ramp from the eastbound lower level to the Cross Bronx Expressway, the Port Authority said on its Web site. That caused delays of as much as an hour for traffic heading into New York, said Bernie Wagenblast, New York operations manager for Westwood One Inc.’s Metro Networks traffic service.

“It apparently ran later than it was scheduled,” Wagenblast said in a telephone interview. “Needless to say you just need one little thing to go wrong and traffic backs up across the bridge into New Jersey, and that’s what happened today.”

The additional closures are scheduled to take place tonight and Dec. 3 before a holiday construction embargo goes into effect, according to the Port Authority.

Adam Levine, a spokesman for the state Transportation Department, didn’t immediately return a telephone message left by Bloomberg News seeking further comment.

SOURCE: Bloomberg

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