Bridges

Support for transit on the new Tappan Zee bridge -- built up over a decade of consensus building and 280 public meetings -- runs deep and broad in the Hudson Valley. Though Governor Andrew Cuomo is already rushing forward with plans to build the bridge without any transit option, 11 local elected officials from both parties and a coalition of 16 environmental, labor, social justice, and transportation organizations have now come together to say that Westchester and Rockland County residents need transit on the Tappan Zee. In a statement released today, the coalition argues that Cuomo can't leave transit to be built later; the Hudson Valley needs transit now.

Despite widespread opposition, Governor Andrew Cuomo is plowing forward with plans to build a new Tappan Zee Bridge without transit. Even so, there's still no plan for how to pay for the bridge. Cuomo has proposed that union pension funds put up some of the money, but there's been no explanation of how those pension funds would be paid back.

Despite intense opposition from nearly every local elected official and a total lack of public input on the new design, Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state Department of Transportation are moving forward with plans to build a new Tappan Zee Bridge without transit.

Governor Andrew Cuomo sent out an "editorial" this weekend putting infrastructure investment at the center of his job creation agenda. In a rough outline, the governor touted public-private partnerships (or PPPs, as they're known) as a key mechanism to pay for "the repair and development of highways, bridges and major construction projects."

State transportation commissioner Joan McDonald deserves an award for chutzpah. In the face of overwhelming opposition from local elected officials to the state's decision to build the new Tappan Zee Bridge without transit, McDonald has, incredibly, taken the stance that the state did no such thing.

According to the State of New York, spending $5.2 billion on a new Tappan Zee Bridge is affordable, but spending another $1 billion for a 30-mile bus rapid transit corridor is a bridge too far.

After nine years of study and 280 meetings, New York State had reached the conclusion that the replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge needed to include transit: both a Metro-North extension and a new cross-county bus rapid transit system. Up until quite recently, state agencies forcefully argued that only transit could improve mobility between Westchester and Rockland Counties and provide a backbone for sustainable future growth. Residents of both counties agreed and bought into the decision. Transit on the Tappan Zee was popular. It was the plan.

After a public outcry, New York State has restored the extensive library of documents generated by nine years of study and public outreach surrounding the construction of the new Tappan Zee Bridge.

Call it the mystery of the missing transit. One of the state's biggest transit projects, in the works for nearly a decade, was canceled overnight and no one will explain why, or even claim responsibility for the decision.