The city takes its crackdown on cars to 14th Street, a crosstown route for 21,000 vehicles a day, which will be virtually off limits.
By Winnie Hu Aug. 8, 2019 nytimes.comCars — including taxis and those working for ride-hailing apps — will be banned from driving across a one-mile stretch of 14th Street from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week, under an 18-month pilot program that could be made permanent.
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Nothing. White Plains is doing nothing. Oh wait, White Plains got itself declared a transportation hub for the lower Hudson Valley. Why? To get more money for the cheap MTA to finally improve its train station here: catching up on 30 years of neglect and correct fundamental problems with the original design.
In exchange for that White Plains gets a huge influx of regional buses, that not only go to the train station but also drive through the already overcrowded downtown streets. What percent of the passenger seats on those buses are occupied in downtown White Plains? The Hudson Link buses are a complete joke as many, if not most, have had ZERO passengers. ZERO.
Common Council members,:
- Have you ridden a bus in White Plains this millenium?
- Have you traveled to city hall in other than a private car?
- After your ten minute drive from your house to downtown do you walk more than a block from your car?
Common Council candidates and their house constituents drive to a debate at the library and talk about:
- White Plains being walkable
- sustainable White Plains.
Candidates Debate takeaway: Tuesday, June 18, 2019
The half century old White Plains car model is neither walkable nor sustainable but no White Plains decision makers show any real understanding, much less inclination to actually change anything.
Not one downtown 4-5 lane street has been improved. Not one.
Not one downtown street corner has been improved. Not one.
White Plains decision makers have no idea how pedestrian hostile White Plains is because they don't live downtown. They only visit the city for which they make quality of life decisions.
The only issue in White Plains: residents in suburban White Plains houses being able to drive to/from downtown in ten minutes. And they think they're entitled to park for free and don't understand why that's not the policy. White Plains decision makers all know it but none will address it.
Solution: election districts instead of Common Council members being elected at large. The reality is that the house residents keep their own in power and we downtown apartment residents are too dumb and lazy to take over as our numbers would support.
So White Plains schlepps along, the convenient compromise.
