Storefront Vacancy Tax Floated 02
LPC Chief Exits Amidst Rules Flap 05
The Shed’s Sneak Preview 09
Photo courtesy of Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit
The M60 SBS line, which runs from the Upper West Side to LaGuardia Airport, currently makes use of transit signal priority.
Beat that Light, Every Bus Rider Says Silently BY SYDNEY PEREIRA Red light, green light! The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is ramping up its efforts to install “transit signal priority” — a traffic light technology aimed at speeding up bus travel times and diminishing delays — across the city’s bus routes. Last week, the MTA announced that transit signal priority would be expanded to more routes “aggressively” as it works with the city Department of Transportation on implementation. TSP works by connecting traffic lights to buses through a GPS signal — the traffic light can sense when a bus is approaching, according to Chris Pangilinan, the program director of technology and rider engagement at TransitCenter. The signal then, based on the bus’s location, stays green for longer so the bus just makes the light. Considering buses spend 21 percent of travel time at red lights, TSP could help buses cruise through traffic. “Transit signal priority has a huge potential to remove a lot of that delay,” Pangilinan said, whose group, TransitCenter, is one of the transit advocacy organizations that is part of the Bus Turnaround TRANSIT SIGNALS continued on p. 4
May 3 — 16, 2018 | Vol. 04 No. 9
CULTURE SHOCK, EVEN IF ONLY 1 TROMBONE LED THE BIG PARADE Photo by Christian Miles
On April 21, the High Line played host to “Culture Shock,” a day of music, art, performances, and plenty of hands-on activity. For upcoming events there, visit thehighline.org.
RESIDENTIAL PARKING PERMITS PUSHED FOR UPPER MANHATTAN BY SYDNEY PEREIRA A new bill percolating in the City Council is looking toward a residents-only parking system for Manhattan from 60th St. to Inwood. Introduced late last month, the bill is part an effort to curb park-and-ride commuters grabbing scarce street spots, particularly in anticipation of a potential congestion pricing plan that would make entry into Midtown more costly. “This bill is really broad and flexible,” said East Side Councilmember Keith Powers, one of the cosponsors of the bill, who took office in District 4 earlier this year. The bill “doesn’t say it has to happen here or at this time. It really opens up the conversation to every community.” Powers added that the system could be a starting point for solving the city’s parking problems. Should congestion pricing win approval at the state level, he said, an “invisible wall” would essentially go up, most likely at 60th St. Implementing a resi-
dential parking system would be a part of solving a larger problem of over-congestion of vehicles hunting for spots north of Midtown. “This is really step one in doing that,” Powers said. The bill requires the Department of Transportation to authorize a residential parking permit system north of 60th St. through Inwood. The bill says that, subject to approval by specific communities, 80 percent of parking spaces would be designated for residents with a permit — not including streets with commercial, office, or retail uses. Non-residential parking spots that remain would be reserved for short-term parking. Should the bill go through, councilmembers say the DOT would hold public hearings with community boards to approve neighborhood programs, ensure that residential permits are only issued to RESIDENTIAL continued on p. 4
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