New SIR Station - Arthur Kill

[Brighton Local]

From todays Staten Island Advance:

 

Finally so nice to hear this news. Its been in the talks for years and they're finally going to proceed with the it.

 

 

 

 

Traffic fixes are saving lives

A 60% drop in fatalities is the result of improved road rules, enforcement, but drivers don't buy it

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

By MAURA YATES

STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Staten Island's streets have gotten safer, with nearly 60 percent fewer fatalities on borough roads this year versus the same period last year, the Mayor's Transportation Task Force announced yesterday.

 

But the news drew comments of contempt and doubt from the motorists who drive those streets.

 

 

 

"Yeah, I imagine fatalities are down because there is so much traffic you could not acquire the velocity to kill someone or yourself," one Islander wrote on silive.com. "It's hard to crash at a snail's pace."

 

Another chimed in: "Safer place to drive -- that is because you can only do 20 m.p.h. max. Every road is jammed with traffic -- no room for accidents."

 

But traffic officials say the statistics tell the story: There have been just nine fatalities year-to-date in 2007, compared to 22 this time last year.

 

"We've seen a dramatic reduction," city Department of Transportation Deputy Commissioner David Woloch said during the Task Force update meeting in the Sea View headquarters of Community Board 2. Woloch attributed the drop to stepped-up police enforcement, the ban of most left turns along Hylan Boulevard from Grasmere to Eltingville, and engineering improvements made at some of the Island's busiest and most dangerous intersections.

 

There also were 7.5 percent fewer accidents on Hylan so far this year, with 357 crashes, compared to 381 year-to-date last year, according to Deputy Police Chief John Sassano.

 

Police have issued more than 250 summonses this year to drivers who flout the regulations. Total moving violations along Hylan are also up, by 9.3 percent, and 11 more traffic enforcement agents have been added to the ranks since December.

 

Catherine Sweeney of MTA Bridges & Tunnels said a team of traffic agents is posted at the intersection of McClean and Lily Pond avenues in Arrochar, to help ease the morning gridlock caused in part by construction work under way on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. A meeting is scheduled for next week to discuss possible fixes for the daily dose of traffic chaos on Capodanno Boulevard leading to the bridge.

 

 

NEW TRAIN STATION

 

Staten Island Railway President John Gaul unveiled a drawing of the new Arthur Kill station, which will replace the crumbling Atlantic and Nassau stations. The station will be accessible to the disabled, and will include a 150-car parking lot on property owned by SIR. Construction is set to begin next summer, and the station is expected to open in 2010.

 

 

 

SIR ridership is up, with 7 percent more passengers riding the rails this year. Gaul said most of the new riders were likely attracted to the service by the enhanced schedule rolled out last summer.

 

New York City Transit representative Bob Newhouser announced that ridership also is up on the new S89 bus route to Bayonne, N.J., which began earlier this month. There were 420 passengers a day on the first week of service, and 560 a day by the third week, he said.

 

Community Board 3 District Manager Marie Bodnar urged the Task Force to reconsider a plan to install six miles of new bike lanes along Hylan Boulevard between Poillon Avenue in Annadale and Page Avenue in Tottenville next month.

 

"To put a bike lane off Hylan Boulevard, I think you're putting people in danger," she said. "A lot of our drivers, they're like cowboys out there," she said. That stretch of Hylan has no sidewalks, and bicyclists could easily be injured if a car veered into the lane.

 

"We're always looking to ensure the safety of the public," said DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, an advocate for bicycling who herself bikes to work and has been very supportive of expanding bike lanes throughout the city. DOT engineers will consider safety concerns and take a close look at Hylan before the new lanes are painted, she said.

 

NEW PARK-AND-RIDE

 

Acting Borough DOT Commissioner Tom Cocola announced that construction will begin next month on the two-dozen-space Prince's Bay park-and-ride, with work to begin on another park-and-ride lot at the Pleasant Plains Railway station shortly after. Plans are also in the works to expand the Great Kills park-and-ride to 80 spots.

 

The boroughwide study of every intersection with a traffic light, to determine where more right-on-red opportunities might be made available, has been delayed, Woloch said. The results are about four months away, he said.

 

A three-month study of South Shore ferry service will be under way shortly.

 

In other news, the City Council voted unanimously to approve legislation requiring the DOT to repair priority traffic signs, such as stops, yields and do-not-enters, within three days instead of the current nine days allowed. Additionally, the Council voted unanimously to issue identifying decals to licensed commuter vans, to differentiate them from illegal gypsy cabs.

 

A bill also was introduced that would fine the employers of bike messengers and food delivery workers who ride their bicycles illegally on city sidewalks instead of streets, creating a hazard for pedestrians.

 

Maura Yates covers transportation news for the Advance. She may be reached at myates@siadvance.com.