tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post6900941884159850487..comments2024-02-01T04:37:41.878-05:00Comments on Cap'n Transit Rides Again: The Tappan Zee Bridge is a sprawl-generating machineCap'n Transithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-89008092633051216852011-10-23T19:43:27.150-04:002011-10-23T19:43:27.150-04:00I'm sorry, Joel, you're way off here. Nob...I'm sorry, Joel, you're way off here. Nobody forced these people to move to Bergen, Orange or Rockland. Most of them grew up in the city and moved out there. They could have stayed here, or moved somewhere with better transit.<br /><br />Most of the people who grew up in these counties had an opportunity to move to someplace with better transit after high school, and quite a few did (I did something similar). Nobody forced the others to buy into the car system.Cap'n Transithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-67417340266953208842011-10-23T19:16:26.147-04:002011-10-23T19:16:26.147-04:00Alon, you know better than that. Sane cost and pub...Alon, you know better than that. Sane cost and public works don't seem to work together in the Northeast. Unless anyone can guarantee that funding will be provided for mass transit, I would not recommend constricting supply of existing road space to shift people onto a transit network that isn't tied together or doesn't exist.jazumahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00890764412679388559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-88659958565845552882011-10-23T03:16:56.612-04:002011-10-23T03:16:56.612-04:00Widening the bridge is a mode shift, in the wrong ...Widening the bridge is a mode shift, in the wrong direction. And it's also a money shift, from the public to the construction contractors. Get the cost down to sane levels first, and talk about crashing the economy later.Alonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17267294744186811858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-89221003281718409392011-10-22T16:05:57.522-04:002011-10-22T16:05:57.522-04:00Cars are a viable form of transportation. I would ...Cars are a viable form of transportation. I would argue that modal shift should not be imposed because the government has been TERRIBLE at keeping up with mass transit demand. The reality is that most people are forced to drive today.<br /><br />The key is to charge appropriately for crossing the bridge. That may be a $7 or $8 toll instead of $5. Bridges in this region typically make money.jazumahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00890764412679388559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-60919332508921382322011-10-21T22:56:47.090-04:002011-10-21T22:56:47.090-04:00Zmapper, I think you need to spend a little more t...Zmapper, I think you need to spend a little more time with Google Earth, and with <a href="http://www.coachusa.com/" rel="nofollow">this site</a>. The Tappan Zee Bridge is not the only way for people who live in Rockland to get to jobs.<br /><br />I don't want to "crash the economy" of these counties. They have done that themselves. I just don't want to spend my tax dollars to revive it - unsustainably.Cap'n Transithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-33596459598522334402011-10-21T19:52:52.264-04:002011-10-21T19:52:52.264-04:00First of all, I want to say that I don't live ...First of all, I want to say that I don't live in New York. All I have to see the area is Wikipedia and Google Earth.<br /><br />I live 60 miles from Denver. If all 2.5 million people living in Denver had only 6 lane Colfax Avenue bridging across the South Platte, we would be pretty pissed to say the least. Granted, the South Platte is a city block wide; not 3 miles wide. <br /><br />Instead, you want to crash the economy of those counties just because <b>you</b> hate sprawl? Sorry, the damage has been done. <br /><br />The Thruway has been built, the houses have been built, the office complexes have been built. There are two million people living between Orange, Rockland, and Westchester county. Now I suppose you could live without the Tappan Zee, like New Jersey could live without the Hudson River tunnels. Sure, while you are at it lets not produce anymore electricity, food, clean water, clothing, anything. Hey, it all supports sprawl, so it must be all bad, right?<br /><br />Hope can be found in repairing the sprawl to be walkable and bikeable. <br />NY 59, the main street of Rockland County, should be first to be completely torn up and remodeled. The new NY 59 would have generous sidewalks, cycle tracks, 10-11' lanes instead of 12' lanes, median refuge islands for pedestrians, a light rail system down the median, and incentives for the property owners to build closer to the street. Traffic would flow at a more reasonable 25-30mph.<br /><br />For the bridge itself, it should have 8 lanes, plus a 3 track railway. The 8 lanes would have 4 set aside for HOVs, and 4 for SOVs. The 3 tracks would enable something like the RiverLINE between Camden-Trenton plus a track for freight trains.<br /><br />Tolling would be done at highway speed like E-470 here or the 407 in Ontario. The road would be priced so traffic is free flowing even during rush hour and lower outside of rush hour. People would be able to *gasp* actually get where they are going in a reasonable amount of time. <br /><br />Cars are not the devils work; they are just overused.Zmapperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13713360303608290737noreply@blogger.com