This is the week to get the letters out!

F/u with calls next week . . .

The main problem was the frequency: if I missed that train, there wasn’t another one for two hours and I had to walk back to the Concourse to get a subway. Looking at the schedule, I honestly don’t see much improvement in frequency in either direction.

I’m sure the Metro-North people say “We don’t stop there because nobody gets on.” But nobody gets on because people who live in that area don’t think of it as a reliable form of transportation. The $4+ peak fare is also a deterrent. They really could do a lot more, because that part of the Bronx has had no convenient train service since they tore down the Third Avenue El. Anyone living right near the Harlem Line would have that fifteen-minute walk to get to the Grand Concourse, or an even longer walk to get to any el line.

Anyway, looking at the broader picture of transportation in the Bronx, yes, improved Metro North service will help. So will removing or covering over expressways. And a big cause of asthma is particulate pollution from diesel engines. This can be addressed by converting buses to CNG (or trolleybuses or streetcars), as well as by reducing truck traffic by means of freight rail. A cross-harbor rail tunnel from Brooklyn to New Jersey would actually help the Bronx a lot, by taking trucks off the Cross-Bronx Expressway. And a CBD congestion charge should reduce the through traffic on expressways and streets as well.

In addition to Martinez, I also wrote to Rangel, Schneiderman, Espaillat, and Bronx BP Carrion.

Everyone else get to it! Now’s the time to strike!

My letter:

I’m writing regarding Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed congestion pricing for Manhattan’s Central Business District.

I think the plan is an excellent beginning to preparing New York City for the challenges that lie ahead of us. If you look at the success London has had in their congestion pricing plan, it will become obvious that this plan is not only helpful to New York’s natural environment, but it will also help all local businesses. In London, automobile traffic is down by 20 percent while commercial traffic has increased, and London’s economy is growing at three times the national average.

In Copenhagen’s inner city, The Stroget (a pedestrian only street) has the highest retail rents in all of Copenhagen because of the massive amount of shoppers. Cars are bad for business because it limits the amount of people that can travel on a street. Just look at any New York street and you will see what I am talking about. There are hundreds of people jammed onto the sidewalks, but about twenty cars per block with probable less than thirty total people in them. It is also worth mentioning that these hundreds of people on the sidewalks have no other choice but to breathe the toxic air imposed on them from the motorists – which is far more damaging than second hand cigarette smoke [please refer to this study to see exactly how dangerous NYC traffic is to people’s lungs: http://www.environmentaldefense.org/documents/6277_AllChokedUp-body.pdf

From my perspective, personal automobile traffic is a blight on communities because of pollution. But there are so many other reasons why we should be moving away from cars as a form of transportation. This is inevitable, but we can choose how we want to make the transition. Lets start now, and lead the world in re-making our city so we can continue to flourish in the difficult times ahead. Lets keep New York City the best city in the world, that above all else will mean better business and more opportunities for all New Yorkers.

Thank you for your service. And please help the Mayor with this important initiative.

Dear Mr. Komanoff,

I wanted to reach out to you to clarify the Borough President’s stance on congestion pricing. As of now, the Borough President has not taken any position on congestion pricing, although he is studying the matter very carefully. To be clear, neither presently nor at any previous time has the Borough President been leaning against congestion pricing. In fact, as the Borough President stated publicly on April 25, 2006, “The many proposals in the Mayor’s PlaNYC, including congestion pricing, should be seriously considered. I think Mayor Bloomberg is right on target in terms of the objectives laid out in PlaNYC.” If you have any further questions please fell free to contact me.

Best,

Anne Fenton
Communications Director
Office of the Bronx Borough President
851 Grand Concourse
Bronx, New York 10451
718-590-3543
917-251-4691

(CK again:) I wrote my letter to Carrion on April 26, so his office had it more than two weeks w/o replying. Sblog posted the letter a little before 2 pm today. Whaddayaknow, Carrion’s office e-replies me a mere two hours later!

It will be vital to insure that the Bronx is not allowed become over-littered with park-and-ride lots, and that any that are created are designed to stimulate economic activity as well. The Bronx should no longer be a drive-through borough, but a drive-to destination.