Issue Position: Transportation

Issue Position

The bus isn't showing up. The ferry is delayed. It takes 20 minutes to drive 3 miles.

The North Shore of Staten Island is a transportation desert. As the population has greatly expanded, we have even fewer transportation options. Staten Islanders face one of the longest commute times not just in New York City, but in the United States of America. The average transit time for working Staten Islanders is over 40 minutes, with 36% of North Shore residents utilizing public transportation, and 59% driving. Over 600,000 New Yorkers are even considered "super commuters", traveling over 90 minutes on average to and from work, more than any other city in the country. Given that over half of Staten Island residents commute to work within the borough, it clearly indicates the need to unclog our local streets. Our city and state must move past the decades-long transportation "plans" that never see the light of day. Residents are over-stressed, over-tired, and over the excuses and rhetoric coming out of every level of government. Our borough has reached a breaking point, and it is time for a broad, community-based set of solutions -- where every level of government must come together -- that will bring needed and noticeablechange to transportation on Staten Island. We can create jobs, build a better and sustainable future for our community, and make Staten Island a leader in transportation solutions.

Here is Charles' 7-point Transportation Plan, embedded with 25 specific proposals and initiatives that will get the North Shore moving again:

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1. A STEADY REVENUE STREAM

Our public transportation system is in dire need of investment. A dedicated revenue stream is necessary for the continued stability of improvements that are long overdue. MoveNY has put forward a multipoint proposal for vastly improved transportation and congestion relief that must be seriously debated in the legislature. A broad, congestion pricing proposal that helps the people of Staten Island must be passed into law. Albany came close this year, but ultimately failed to deliver for the overwhelming majority of New Yorkers who want relief in their wallets and relief on the road. Any congestion proposal good for Staten Island must even the financial playing field across the city, unclog our expressways, lower the toll on the Verrazzano Bridge, and ensure the North Shore does not get unfairly targeted by any proposal.

2. ACCOUNTABILITY AND EFFICENCY OF BUREAUCRACIES

Holding the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a state agency, accountable for every dollar is pivotal. The state legislature must impanel an objective, independent working group to audit the MTA, leaving no stone unturned. The people of this state deserve to know why our tax dollars, bridge tolls, and bus fares are going up, while we see a rapid decline in service with continued over-the-top, excessive capital costs of an agency rife with red tape. This must come to an end. The working group will bring transparency, accountability, and most importantly, cost savings to the beleaguered agency.

As transportation related infrastructure projects propel our city into the 21stcentury, we have seen the state grant special Design-Build Authority to various projects that combines numerous, separate procurement processes into one bid. We must grant broad Design-Build Authority to New York City infrastructure projects. This method creates a bid process that is streamlined, with designers and contractors working hand in hand with project owners from the start, greatly reducing all-to-often construction delays, potential litigation, and steep cost overruns. As evidenced by the recent completion of the new Goethals Bridge, because of design-build, the project was completed on-time and within the allocated budget. We must also explore new and intuitive project delivery methods for public contracting agencies to ensure flexibility in delivering for our communities in the most cost-effective manner.

3. NEW PUBLIC TRANSIT OPTIONS FOR THE NORTH SHORE

North Shore Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is closer than it ever has been to becoming a reality. Through years of proposals, feasibility studies, and an engineering and environmental review process, we need leaders in Albany who will push this project past the finish line. I have long said if we can spend over $1.5 Billion to raise a bridge (Bayonne) 60 feet, we can invest in a rapid transit system that will serve over 10,000 North Shore residents every day. Generations of elected leaders from all sides of the political spectrum have advocated for this project. It's taken far too long, and my main transportation priority in Albany will be to deliver this project for our community.

Additionally, the North Shore BRT route should have a green belt parallel to the bus route for runners and cyclists. The introduction of CitiBike, dockless bikes, and other bike sharing programs along this green belt will give the North Shore even more options of alternative travel, enjoy the beauty of nature, and show the rest of New York just how vibrant the North Shore is.

West Shore Light Rail would play a major role of not only brining a needed, additional public transportation option to the west shore, but connecting our island and bringing communities together. This project has faced major hurdles and is also coming closer to fruition. I commit to working with partners at the city and federal levels to achieve proper funding for this project, and work to truly transform public transportation across Staten Island.

The New Stapleton Waterfront is a fast-growing part of our community. With significant retail and affordable housing investment, the underutilized waterfront is seeing long-overdue attention. As part of a "five borough" fast ferry plan, our entire island was left out of the program. With so much of the infrastructure already in place, I commit to working with local partners to establish fast ferry service from Stapleton to Manhattan and Coney Island, as was originally studied and proposed in the plan.

4. INVESTMENT, OVERSIGHT, AND EXPANSION OF EXISTING BUSES, RAIL, AND FERRY

Long considered the worst in the city, our island's local express bus network is finally moving forward, with a long overdue route map update that will cut the average route length by 23%, greatly reducing travel times. Andy Byford, President of the New York City Transit Authority, has spoken about ushering in a next generation of local bus networks, and I agree. I will work with him to move the microscope over to our islands local bus network.

Local MTA buses are the slowest in any large city. With unreliable service, a schedule that never seems to be followed, and multiple buses being dispatched at once causing a cascading effect, it is clear that something has gone wrong. We need to invest in expanding the network, not on cosmetic changes that do nothing to increase reliable service. As an example, the adjustments recently completed for the new express bus network must occur for the local network; evaluating stop by stop which are essential and which can be fine-tuned to improve transit times while ensuring a majority of commuters are not inconvenienced with excessive walking to get to their closest stop.
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With only 104 miles of dedicated bus lanes in a city of over 6,000 miles, expanding bus only lanes is essential, which has a proven track record of increasing efficiency and decreasing transit time. Additionally, smart traffic signals; where sensors are imbedded above and below roads, near traffic lights, to detect waiting vehicles and pedestrians. An expansion of this system across the North Shore will not only speed up buses but expedite local traffic during non-rush hours.

Major cities across the world have taken advantage of Transit Signal Priority, a process in which buses connect with traffic lights to either keep a light green or reduce a red light for an approaching bus at a given intersection. With only 260 intersections across the entire city utilizing this process, I will push the city's DOT, with state assistance, to rapidly introduce Transit Signal Priority across our borough.

Over the years, the Staten Island Ferry has seen major progress. From 24/7 service, with ferry's coming at least every 30 minutes to a new class of ships. These enhancements come at a time when the ferry is seeing a rapid increase in ridership, which will skyrocket even further following the completion of Empire Outlets and The NY Wheel. The city's Department of Transportation (DOT) must be held accountable for the increasing boat departure delays, as self-evidenced by the recent "late pass" commuters can request when they arrive late to work due to delayed ferry service. I will work with local partners to hold the DOT accountable for delays and ensure the ferry - the public transportation lifeline of
the North Shore - is properly maintained and invested in.

The Staten Island Railroad (SIR) has been a fixture of Staten Island for over a century. It is also the only rapid transit line the borough has. I'm committed to making sure it will not be the last, while also holding the MTA accountable for the decrepit state of the train cars and stations. The first set of new subway cars coming to New York City are set to go to the SIR. I will personally hold the MTA responsible, and make sure they keep their promise of bringing these cars to the SIR first. We must also continue investing in station and track maintenance, specifically installing count down clocks at all stations, LED lights, security cameras, and protective shelters along the station platforms. The MTA has failed at keeping pace with these improvements, and they must be held accountable.

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5. INCREASED TRAFFIC ENFORCMENT AND RESOURCES

While good laws are on the books, traffic enforcement has long been an issue plaguing our district. Investments must be made to grow resources for law enforcement so they can properly increase and establish permanent enforcement of dedicated bus lanes, HOV lanes, and Blocking The Box/Gridlocking. As was instituted in Manhattan earlier this year, I believe we must study banning large deliveries during the AM (7-10AM) and PM (4-7 PM) rush hours.
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6. REVITILIZATION OF LOCAL ROADS, BRIDGES, AND EXPRESSWAYS

I am proud to have been a part of a mayoral administration that has paved more miles of roads in Staten Island than any previous mayor. Over 42% of our local roads have been milled and resurfaced over the last four years. In Albany, I will work with our local partners in continuing this trend, along with exploring new asphalt mixtures for longer-lasting resurfacing treatments.

The Verrazzano Bridge has been a crown jewel of Staten Island infrastructure since it was opened in 1964. This bridge has been a lifeline to Staten Island for generations, and as an Assembly Member, I will commit to fighting for lower tolls, along with renewing the resident discount, and two-way tolling so commercial industries do not take advantage of dogging tolls and wreaking havoc on the expressway. We must also transition the MTA away from continuously giving Staten Island the short hand, making it a piggy bank for projects across the city - upping tolls on the Verrazzano as the most overt example.

Instituting full cashless tolling on both the Goethals and Outerbridge must become a reality, along with completing the HOV lane on Staten Island Expressway (Interstate 278) from bridge to bridge and introducing a full HOV lane on the West Shore Expressway (Route 440).

Now that the new Goethals bridge is up and running, attention must be focused on the Outerbridge. Funding has been committed to studying and planning a new Outerbridge. I will work with all stakeholders, across state lines, to continue the planning and subsequent building process and ensure the funding is there for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) to keep up a fast pace to replace this 100+ year old bridge.

Far too often during rain storms, streets across our island become heavily flooded. For a variety of reasons, solutions have not come quick enough to alleviate the damage being done to these roads and the delays commuters face because of this flooding. An above-all approach of increased street cambering (where the middle of the road is the highest point, expediting runoff), and cleaning and expanding catch basins, must be instituted and I will commit full state efforts to bring this to completion.

7. SUPPORTING LOW INCOME STATEN ISLANDERS AND PROTECTING OUR STUDENTS

The City Council took a monumental step in getting half-priced MetroCards for low-income New Yorkers in the FY19 budget. As our borough faces an affordability crisis, I will work during the state budget process to help our city continue paying for this common sense endeavor.

Albany politics has played into the safety of our children, and that is unacceptable. While we must invest in police enforcement of traffic laws, I fully support the use of speed cameras and red-light cameras in the vicinity of schools and believe we must have an all-of-the-above approach to protecting our students, including speed bumps, traffic lights, stop signs, and an increased law enforcement presence.

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