FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 22, 2017
Contact: Jane Lerner, Director of Strategic Communications
Office of the County Executive (845) 638-5645
lernerj@co.rockland.ny.us 

Rockland County Executive Ed Day Urges Show of Support for Bus Lane on New Bridge

NEW CITY, NY – Rockland County Executive Ed Day is urging residents to attend a presentation Tuesday evening to show their support for dedicated bus lanes on the new Tappan Zee Bridge.

"We have to show the state that the people of Rockland County want dedicated bus lanes as a first step toward creating better transit service between Westchester and Rockland," he said. "It will also set the stage for additional dedicated transit lanes in the I-287 corridor to enable true Bus Rapid Transit service in the future."

The New York State Department of Transportation will host open house events in both Westchester and Rockland to present findings from an analysis of a potential dedicated bus lanes on the bridge.

The Rockland open house will take place from 6 to 8 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 26 at the Palisades Center mall, 4th Floor, Adler Room.

County Executive Day was a major force behind ensuring the dedicated bus lane on the bridge remained part of the project.

Rockland County has been a member of the Lower Hudson Transit Link Technical Advisory Committee and other subcommittees. The county has been providing input to the state to create this new transit service between Rockland and Westchester, which will replace the existing TAPPAN ZEExpress bus service in late 2018.

The County Executive and other Rockland officials became concerned last year when it seemed the bus lanes might be eliminated from the project.

"Dedicated bus lanes on the new bridge 'on day one' were a long-promised component of the bridge project," Day said.

He wrote to Governor Cuomo earlier this year and urged the LHTL team to expedite the study process to ensure that buses are able to use emergency lanes on the new bridge as dedicated bus lanes.

The Governor's Mass Transit Task Force concluded that bus lanes are a vital aspect of the New NY Bridge project, and, in fact, only the first step in a larger network of dedicated lanes needed within the 1-287 corridor.
Rockland County has long advocated for better mass transit.

As a member of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council and the Mass Transit Task Force from 2012-2014, Rockland County Government joined with other members to call for the bus lanes and ensure their inclusion in the final bridge product.

Mass Transit Task Force members who presented a unified voice in support of dedicated bus lanes included Rockland County Legislator Harriet Cornell, South Nyack Mayor Bonnie Christian, Nyack Mayor Jen White, Veronica Vanterpool, of Tri-State Transportation Campaign and others.

Day said he was pleased that the Governor, the DOT, the Thruway and the LHTL project team have kept their commitment to the Hudson Valley, as well as to the Mass Transit Task Force, and have re-prioritized the bus lanes project.

"We look forward to seeing this important part of the bridge project and the Lower Hudson Transit Link service come to fruition through the establishment of dedicated bus lanes on the New NY Bridge," he said.