New tolls? Not without change

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For those New Yorkers with incomes below the multibillion-dollar level who are tragically bereft of secret luxury apartments and chauffeurs to take them there, commuting downtown is an ever more unpleasant chore. Cycling is the commute of the brave, and the people who operate CitiBikes are apparently indifferent to the needs of this borough, anyway.

That leaves personal cars and public buses and subways as the only options for most New Yorkers. 

An independent group of traffic planners has suggested squeezing outer borough and upper Manhattan motorists with new tolls on Harlem River bridges and along 60th Street, presumably to force them to use public transportation. That might not be a bad idea if the service provided on our buses, trains and subways were adequate, but it’s not.

There must be no new tolls and no toll hikes without concomitant improvements in public transportation. Here are some ideas to start.

The MTA and the state government should heed local politicians’ calls to expand service on the Bx7, Bx10 and other lines. Especially during winter, long waits at stops like the frequently crowded one at West 231st Street are a significant detriment to New Yorkers trying to go about their business. While the authority added three extra buses to the Bx7 line after politicians held a press conference last year, that is not enough. There must be better service on a permanent basis around the clock.

Further, instead of using super-sized accordion buses — the terrors of Broadway and other busy streets — the MTA should expand its fleet to provide more frequent small buses that meet commuters’ needs and do not pose a menace to the roads.

For people in the northwest Bronx, the 1 train is a lifeline. However, recent years have seen deteriorating maintenance and service cuts. The city should make the investment to take trash off the cars and platforms and to deliver service consistently on weekend nights.

The Metro-North Hudson Line should go to Penn Station. Amtrak is already using the westside tracks and there is no reason the Metro-North trains can’t, also. As efforts are ramped up to create a new station on the west side of Eighth Avenue, improved commuter service must be included in the plan.

The latest news on public transportation is not encouraging. Politicians seem receptive to the tolls proposal and Gov. Andrew Cuomo seems obstinately opposed to giving the MTA the robust budget it needs.

However, if officials can see beyond this penny-wise, pound-foolish approach, the day might come when the city’s billionaires look with envy on people using public transportation.

CitiBikes, Harlem River, MTA, Bronx, Metro-North Hudson Line, Penn Station, Amtrak

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