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| Advocacy group launches campaign for Staten Island's North Shore Bus Rapid Transit system (301204) | |||
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Advocacy group launches campaign for Staten Island's North Shore Bus Rapid Transit system |
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Posted by Gold_12th on Sat Dec 20 14:21:25 2014  The New York League of Conservation Voters is teaming up with the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce to advocate for the need of a mass transit system to sustain the rapid commercial and residential growth of the North Shore. The League plans to canvas North Shore transit sites next week to hand out literature and collect signatures for a petition asking Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio to find funding for the construction of the North Shore Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line. "We saw an opportunity to partner and work on this issues and build support to show why this is so important to the North Shore," said Ya-Ting Liu, NYC program director for the League. The current form of the MTA's proposed, $32 billion capital program outlines a $300 million plan to replace the aging cars of the Staten Island Railway, but offers no funding for mass transit proposals like the North Shore BRT system or the West Shore Light Rail. Councilwoman Debi Rose, the League and the Chamber of Commerce are making a concerted effort to have the MTA squeeze the project into its plans as the agency's budget dialogue continues. With projects like the New York Wheel and Empire Outlets planning to change the face of the North Shore, the Independent Budget office estimates that 1 million more people will be riding the ferry into Staten Island each year. Ms. Rose (D-North Shore) says that the BRT is needed to serve the anticipated influx of residents and tourists in the area. "In just two short years, the North Shore of Staten Island will become a global destination," she said in a statement. "However, the MTA apparently has not seen this memo." Adam Lisberg, an MTA spokesman, said there will be open dialogue regarding the needs of Staten Islanders in the upcoming months of capital budget talks. "Make no mistake, there's far more need out there than what we have money for, or even what we have the capacity to do in the next five years," he said before the MTA's Staten Island public hearing on Wednesday. But we're certainly open to a dialogue about what is important to the people [of Staten Island]." As is, the capital program already faces a $15 billion funding shortage, but Staten Island's MTA board member, Allen Cappelli, believes that the MTA could fit in the $326 million needed to build the system. "What's another $300 million in the grand scheme of things?" asked Cappelli, a BRT advocate, before the start of the MTA public hearing. "I've expressed extreme displeasure that the BRT was not included the MTA's capital budget." If a place in the capital budget is out of the question, the BRT plan wouldn't necessarily die. New York State will have $5 billion to spend thanks to settlements from banks and insurance companies, and Cuomo wants the spending to be for one-time allocations, not for programs that need annual funding. Staten Island officials want a piece of that surplus to come to Staten Island for BRT construction and West Shore Light Rail studies. "There's a very strong feeling that that money should be used for capital infrastructure projects," said Cappelli. "That is a perfect way to fund the North Shore BRT. If we're not able to get it into the MTA capital budget, we ought to be making noise about it so the governor will take notice." http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/12/advocacy_group_launches_campai.html |
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