DEIS: Traffic concerns; Trip origins for people driving to games

TRIP ORIGINS FOR PEOPLE DRIVING TO GAMES

Draft EIS states:

The largest share of auto trips is from Northern New Jersey, ranging from 21.5 percent for weekend games to 23.6 percent after weeknight games. The next two highest percentages are from New England and Long Island, which account for 15.0 to 17.8 percent of trips to/from New England and 13.5 and 14.7 percent of trips to/from Long Island. Other non-New York City trip origins include Upstate New York counties east and west of the Hudson River such as Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess and Orange Counties, which combine for 17.9 to 21.5 percent of peak hour trips. Southern and Central New Jersey trips account for another 9.0 to 10.5 percent of trips.

Weekday auto trips from the five boroughs of New York City range from 13.8 percent after weeknight games to 20.3 percent before weeknight games.

Response:

The above trip origin data shed light on what could be done to get more people to the stadium by public transit. While northern NJ is somewhat difficult to get to from the stadium on transit, transit improvements such as the ARC tunnel and the new Tappan Zee Bridge will help alleviate this and should be explored, particularly for day games. Ferry service should also be looked into from various Hudson River ferry landings as another way to get people to the site, particularly on day games when the weather is nice. Package deals should be put together to accommodate these people.

People coming from Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess and Connecticut should all have the option to take Metro-North – either to a new Yankee Stadium station on the Hudson Line, or to the Melrose station on the Harlem and New Haven Lines. These train lines are tremendous resources which have so far been ignored by the project. They are a suitable way to get people to and from the games without the need to drive. People are already using it, and more can be expected if improvements are made. If the Tappan Zee Bridge is reconstructed with a connection to the Hudson Line, people from Rockland and Orange Counties will also be able to take the train directly to a new Yankee Stadium station. According to the project schedule, the new Tappan Zee Bridge could be open only a couple of years after the proposed new stadium would open.

People traveling from the 5 boroughs should not need to drive to get to a game. Transit service should be improved to allow these people to use the transit system that they pay for through their taxes and fares.