Highlights From the Latest Mobilizing the Region

The latest issue of Tri-State Transportation Campaign’s Mobilizing the Region newsletter just came out. Here are some of the highlights:

The Bloomberg Sustainability Agenda: Reading the Transportation Tea Leaves
The mayor mentioned only two broad transportation-related goals: bring the subway system to a state of good repair, and improve travel times over today’s levels by adding mass transit capacity. Urbanists and pedestrian advocates looking for a statement about more efficient and convivial use of city street space were disappointed.

Congestion Pricing: What’s the Problem With Queens?
Strangely, six of the seven bridges or tunnels that connect Queens to other boroughs (and most of Queens to the Rockaways) already have tolls. So is the big fuss in Queens really just about keeping the chronically-clogged Queensboro Bridge toll-free? It is true that Queens connections to some of the free bridges in Brooklyn are pretty direct (if one were driving from eastern Queens to City Hall, for example) but the big shifts in free versus paid car access to the central business district under the Manhattan Institute plan would be in Brooklyn and The Bronx, rather than in Queens.

Earth to Staten Island: Stop Voting for Worse Traffic
Recent news from Staten Island clearly manifests the Island’s split personality. One headline announced the start of construction of a new mall along the West Shore Expressway that is slated to be the “second-largest shopping center” on the Island and looks like it would fit into any sprawling suburban retail landscape across the U.S., while within just a few days, the NASCAR track proposed for a site near the Goethals Bridge went down to defeat because of traffic fears.