Rockland Exec Questions Mass Transit Committee Plans

The New NY Bridge Project Mass Transit Task Force held the ninth of its 12 scheduled meetings Friday at Dominican College, but members are still awaiting research and there is still division regarding long-term and short-term proposals to improve travel in Rockland and Westchester Counties.

Before the meeting, Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef sent a letter to task force co-chairs Joan McDonald an Thomas J. Madison regarding his concerns with proposals being discussed, primarily that they would not improve mass transit for Rockland County residents. Of particular concern is removing Tarrytown Rail Station from bus rapid transit routes and sending the Rockland residents who use them to White Plains instead.

"The issue is they are talking about doing away with the route to Tarrytown, which a number of our residents use, and having them instead going to White Plains and not have the Tarrytown option," Vanderhoef said. "The argument is with enormous number of improvements on the 59 corridor, you can set it up so people get there (Whte Plains) faster. Therefore the trip to White Plains, which is geographically farther, is the same (time as Tarrytown is now). But if it’s the same, it doesn’t benefit us. It doesn’t motivate them to use  mass transportation. What we’re saying is, look at the Tarrytown option and see if it can improve traffic times. We don’t want to impose on Tarrytown, but that’s really what the issue is."

"(Arup Consultant) Trent (Lethco) said that the most important to the discussion is that the Tarrytown connection provides no benefit to the larger system," Tarrytown Mayor Drew Fixell said. "The primary goal is to relieve traffic congestion on the (1-287) corridor. A slightly improved connection to Tarrytown does nothing for that. it does nothing for the traffic issue we are supposed to be talking about, which is across the Tappan Zee Bridge and all of 287."

He also pointed out that proposed bus rapid transit routes through Rockland would travel primarily on Route 59, where they would be slowed by traffic. He suggested modifying the routes to use more of I-287, which is less congested, to improve travel time. 

"Neither of the Rockland BRT scenarios proposed -- "Rockland Rapid West (Suffern to White Plains) nor "Rockland Rapid East" (Nanuet to Yonkes) would actually improve the existing transit trips offered, which was one of the goals of the task force," Vanderhoef wrote in his letter to the co-chairs. "Neither of the propsed routes would provide any improved transit access to Tarrytown Rail Station, which is a priority for Rockand Task Force members."

"I share that concern," said Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee (D-Suffern), another member of the task force. "To have the express go all the way down 59 and into Spring Valley, then onto the thruway, does not encourage anyone to take the bus because the time fram is not going to be helpful or acceptable."

Consultant Trent Lethco of Arup, who provided the updates on existing proposals Friday, maintained that the plans discussed can create significant improvement to traffic on Route 59. 

Vanderhoef and other committee member were more positive regarding proposed improvements to infrastructure and measures such as traffic signal priority for mass transit routes that could improve travel times on mass transit routes in both counties.

One key component of the discussions Friday was ongoing traffic studies, which will be going on this month. He said they could not do the studies over the summer with reduced traffic while school was out. 

"Everyone thought this database existed for us," Lethco said. "We thought the state had it."

Conybeare said the plan is to get a draft of the final proposals to the task force into the members hands as soon as possible, a priority with only three of the monthly meetings remaining. The next meeting is scheduled for Oct. 18 at the Tarrytown Community Center.