White Plains CitizeNetReporter - Thruway Authority Issues Myth Busters. Report on Tuesday Scoping

WPCNR TAPPAN ZEE BRIDGE BULLET. February 29, 2012: The New York State Thruway issued 9 Myth Busters explaining what the proposed new Tappan Zee Bridge does and does not do. The primary myth, according to the release is that the proposed new bridge will Not include dedicated lane bus express service on the new bridge itself. It will. Previously before New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called for a scaled-down $5.2 Billion bridge, Michael Anderson, the project director told WPCNR two years ago, that the thruway planned Bus Rapid Transit for the previous bridge called for the I-287 corridor as presently constructed supporting a Bus Rapid Transit System with stations along the route. Now according to the Myth Busters Sheet released today, the dedicated lane service on the new bridge will be the only rapid transit service feature of the bridge but not connecting to any other express lane on the Westchester side of the bridge and it would require 64 miles of construction in both counties. The Thruway release also notes there can be no mass transit system through Rockland and Westchester Counties without spending an additional $5.6 Billion and $80 Million a year to operate it. The Myth Busters as released today by the New York State Thruway Authority:

The New York State Thruway Wednesday announced the release of these Myths vs. Facts about Mass Transit on the New Tappan Zee Bridge MYTH: Mass transit is not part of the new Tappan Zee Bridge. FACT: The new bridge will support mass transit including bus rapid transit and commuter rail -- even before Rockland and Westchester Counties begin plans for a full mass transit system that could connect with the bridge. MYTH: Mass transit options are far in the future. FACT: The new bridge will have immediate, dedicated express bus service. MYTH: Mass transit will never be part of the Tappan Zee Bridge. FACT: The opposite is true. There can be no mass transit system without first building a new Tappan Zee bridge. The new bridge is being built to support bus and rail transit so that Rockland and Westchester can build a mass transit system to connect to the bridge. MYTH: Mass transit can be built now. FACT: A mass transit system in Rockland and Westchester requires 64 miles of construction in those counties at a cost of billions of dollars. There is no plan and no funding available to build a new mass transit system in the counties. However, if that changes, the new bridge will be able to accommodate it. MYTH: We can afford to build mass transit now. FACT: Building this separate mass transit system through Rockland and Westchester Counties would cost up to $5.3 billion and once the system was built it could cost $80 million to operate it. This means it could cost more to build and operate a separate mass transit system then to build the new Tappan Zee Bridge. MYTH: We can afford to build mass transit now. FACT: The $5.3 billion pricetag for a mass transit system means that the County Executives that want to build the system now will have to pay for it leading to the biggest tax and toll hike in Westchester and Rockland County history. MYTH: A full mass transit system is a fundamental part of building a new Tappan Zee Bridge. FACT: A full mass transit system would extend 64 miles from the bridge into Rockland and Westchester respectively. Currently the Counties have no plans in place to construct these 64 miles of mass transit. The entire bridge is only three miles and will support mass transit, if and when the Counties build it. MYTH: There is no mass transit on the bridge now. FACT: New York State already spends $2 million a year to provide Express Bus service across the Bridge, currently serving 499,000 riders per year and approximately 2,000 riders a day. The State will expand these services as market demand grows. However, numbers developed by New York's Planning body currently show that only 5,900 additional riders would cross the bridge on future Bus Rapid Transit, and that could only happen if the systems are in place on either side. MYTH: The new Tappan Zee Bridge being built for drivers only FACT: The new Tappan Zee Bridge will include a pedestrian walkway and bike lanes, in addition to the dedicated express bus service. Over 500 attended the Public Scoping Briefing on the New Tappan Zee Bridge Crossing Project at the Palisades Mall Center Tuesday evening. WPCNR filed this report on what it learned at that presentation: WPCNR learned that there are no anticipated problems in obtaining steel for the bridge and if there are engineers told WPCNR (under condition of anonymity) that the bridge could be constructed of concrete. Our source did say though that steel construction was lighter than concrete and would be preferable because the Hudson Riverbed is soft. Engineering sources indicated to WPCNR that the cost of maintenance on the new bridge would be between $2.5 Million and $5 Million a year once the bridge is opened--however the prospective builders of the bridge will advise the actual cost of maintenance as part of their bids. A Federal Highway Administration official in attendance referred WPCNR questions on when FHA funds would have to start being repaid to his public relations department in Washington. No new information on financing the bridge was provided at the meeting, and no information on possible toll increases was provided. The speakers I heard felt that Mass Transit should be part of the bridge. Speakers also wanted more details and opportunity to comment before the environmental impact statement was closed. There was concern that unsafe entrances to the bridge in the Nyack area were not being addressed and made safer as part of the new construction. The Supervisor of Orangetown and the Mayor of Nyack demanded to know how much tolls on the new bridge would be. The Mayor of South Nyack commented that the circular thruway staging area where DOT vehicles are now stored should be developed into a retail area to develop South Nyack; Irene Cornell, representing Rockland County and Rockland County Supervisor Scott Vanderhoef each called for Mass Transit to be part of the new bridge, Cornell demanded more comment period and analysis be done. A bus depot operator in Monroe, NY noted that his depot had experienced a 50% rise in bus traffic over the last year and urged that bus rapid transit not be left out of the bridge design, calling for a dedicated bus lane. At this point, there is no dedicated bus line incorporated in the bridge. WPCNR notes that the new bridge at this point consists of two spans, 75 feet apart, providing room for mass transit between the bridges at a future date. There is a question as to whether the new bridge designed to be considerably higher than the present Tappan Zee Bridge would have support pilings 230 feet apart or 430 feet apart, which would be determined by the design of the winning bidder. Six homes would be destroyed on the Nyack side of the Hudson to construct the new bridge. The hearing was scheduled to begin at 5 P.M. with a full room of speakers eager to speak. However,40 minutes taken up by DOT, MTA and Army Corps of Engineers commenting on protocols and niceties and DOT Project Manager Mochael Anderson's recap of the charts available for the public to learn about the bridge. At 5:55 P.M. comments were opened with a series of politicians speaking first, who reiterated written remarks that presumably all had handed in for the record previously. One of those speaking was White Plains Councilperson Milagros Lecouna who is leading the Tappan Zee Bridge park movement. Lecouna stressed the need for a dedicated bus lane at the new bridge opening, saying not to include it was "planning for the past." Lecouna also estimated that destruction of the old Tappan Zee would cost much more than the $150 Million estimated, and this was a good reason for turning the old bridge into a park. Engineers present did not wish to comment to WPCNR on whether the old bridge could physically support the weight of trees or businesses (such as hotels and restaurants) on its structure. Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino, and no one representing him, did not address the hearing The public did not begin to speak until 6:40 P.M. when all the politicians were finished speaking.


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