THE WORLD READS WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER — 8,324,077 VISITS IN ONE YEAR

WPCNR TAPPAN ZEE BRIDGE NEWS. By John F. Bailey. July 25, 2012. Part 2:

WPCNR provides this wrap-up of the rest of the LoHud Editorial Spotlight discussion with Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Tappan Zee Team. To see the discussion in its entierty go to http://www.livestream.com/editorialspotlight/video?clipId=pla_0d5dea02-9da5-4214-9941-30bdb19206c2&utm_source=lslibrary&utm_medium=ui-thumb:

Optimism for an  increase in funding from the Federal Government was expressed by Thruway Authority Executive Director Thomas Madison, that with new funding passed this year by congress made available for the TIFIA program(Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, the state may be able to fund more with TIFIA than the $2.2 Billion they are asking for now. But this appeared to be wishful thinking, with nothing concrete.

Larry Schwartz, the Secretary to the Governor, said the effect on tolls for the bridge is still being evaluated, expressing the hope the tolls would be comparable to similar bridges in the area.

As an aid, WPCNR calculated in February that to finance $6.2 Billion through the TIFIA program,  at its current rate and pay the maintenance costs of the new bridge, tolls would have to go up to $11.50 a Trip. To read that commentary go to  www.whiteplainscnr.com/article9023.html

No timelines were given as to how soon a decision would be made on the bids from bridge contractors on the costs of building the new bridge.  The Governor’s office is now assembling an evaluation team of about 60 persons, what New York State Thruway Executive Director called “the best and the brightest from around the world,” to evaluate contractor bids due to be submitted tomorrow.

Larry Schwartz, the Secretary to Governor Cuomo said the names of the “Evaluation Team” would be announced by the Governor’s office when they are finalized. It was noted that the Federal Government would also have to approve any construction using Federal money.

Schwartz said that the possibility of using Route 119 as the dedicated bus lane through Westchester County ( long promoted by the Tappan Zee project for Bus Rapid Transit in previous meetings) has not been discarded, but the imput of all communities had to be considered. He noted that Thruway project affecting White Plains at Exits 7 & 8 had dragged 25% longer than it should have taken and the impacts of establishing BRT lanes on 287 would subject that area and its citizens to more inconvenience for years.  

Schwartz returned to the theme of gathering input from communities, decision-makers and government officials, and the need to reach consensus together on how to execute rapid transit through the counties, and to determine the need for it. He did not dismiss the data already gathered by the Thruway Authority engineering teams on transit data.

Brian Conybeare, the newly appointed representative to deliver the message of the administration, said it would be his job to disseminate key information to the public as the Governor’s Office makes decisions. He said the public could ask questions via phone at 1-800-855-TZBRIDGE or go to the new website made live today at www.newnybridge.com

The Governor’s Tappan Zee Bridge Team today gave the impression that indicated months of meetings and discussion lie ahead for the Tappan Zee Bridge Project which to move ahead requires more meetings with more people, scores of government officials and stakeholders in the project.

WPCNR TAPPAN ZEE NEWS. By John F. Bailey. July 25, 2012:

In a lohud.com webcast that went down after the first twenty minutes due to unexplained technical difficulties, Larry Schwartz, Secretary to Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Thomas Madison , State Thruway Authority Executive Director, made clear that a Tappan Zee Bridge cross-Rockland, cross-Westchester Bus Rapid Transit system will not become reality for years.

The form the BRT lanes promised on the new Tappan Zee Bridge will take after they touch the Rockland and Westchester shores has also not been decided. That massive undertaking will only take shape after the state conducts meetings with community officials all along the route. Schwartz emphasized the state wanted to proceed forward working directly with the communities. This, coming after the New York State Thruway has been involving communities in presentations, drawing up plans and taking their comments the last ten years, as a cost of $280 Million.

The moderator,Nancy Cutler, Lohud Rockland County Opinion Editor, asked directly if there been any decision about whether to extend the promised BRT Lane piecemeal (across Westchester County and Rockland Counties) or across the counties, Schwartz said

 ” I think the commitment is to not make any predertermined decisions but to work with the Rockland County Executive, the Westchester County Executive, their staffs, as well as the local elected officials in the community, the business community, the transit advocates, and the civic associations to figure out what makes sense, what’s needed and what will be used (ridden). “

“We’re going to have as many meetings with the community and the different stakeholders here in the lower Hudson Valley region as needed. We’re targeting now between 50 to 100 (meetings), but if we need to do 150, whatever number we need to do, this is an on-going process. Governor Cuomo has made it clear  that he wants the process to be open and transparent now and throughout the construction  phase of the new Tappan Zee Bridge. That’s why we’re here in this ongoing effort to establish an open line of communication, to get input and feedback , to learn to listen, and also to be responsive to the concerns and questions that Westchester and Rockland residents have regarding our building a new Tappan Zee Bridge.”

Schwartz promised to do a better job “in terms of our openness, our transparency, and making sure we have a constructive dialogue.”

He said..”In addition to being transparent, we need to be honest, trustworthy, straightforward  and credible. That’s the governor’s task to me and to the project team here in not making commitments the state will not be able to keep.”

Madison said the build first with transit inclusion was the best solution:  “a brand-new structure that would not preclude any transit option for the future, and this was central to the governor’s vision for moving forward with the Tappan Zee Bridge project: let’s build a bridge now; build a bridge we can afford today, but make the necessary investments today that make a commitment today that in the future we will not preclude any transit option on the bridge.”

Schwartz noted on BRT feasibility:

 “even on an incremental (construction) basis, it’s going to be cost.y that  One of the proposals we presented today was a Suffern to Tarrytown BRT System that would cost $1.9 Billion, depending on how you construct it. SomeBODY has to pay for that. We have to find the money. Governor Cuomo has made it clear we have to move forward with the bridge, and we have to do this project in the most financially feasible and affordable way, that doesn’t have an impact on the taxpayers, and minimizes the impact on the toll-payers. The governor’s committed to transit; he’s certainly committed to transit on the bridge; he’s committed on working on transit solutions off the bridge…there’s a lot of ideas out there some of those ideas are going to have significant community impacts and I think we need to do a better job of  educating and informing the community, when you build a BRT what that really means in terms of not only costs, but community impact. In 1997, they talked about widening I-287 to include HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes…there was a lot of community outcry from Greenburgh, Elmsford, and White Plains and Governor George Pataki dropped the idea.”

An engineer on the panel Mark Roach, said the key to making BRT a success was reliability which could only come from dedicated bus lanes.

When the complete discussion is available, WPCNR will follow up with more coverage of the rest of the discussion. At the time when the feed went down on Internet Explorer from the lohud site, there were approximately 325 viewers

Tonight at 6 PM at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Road there will be another forum with state officials to discuss Tappan Zee Bridge issues. Thursday there will be one in Rockland County at the Rockland Community College Cultural Arts Theatre, 145 College Road, Ramapo.