Critics tell town ‘just say no’ to transit plan
“I don’t see what benefit it is to us at this particular time,” Tim Hogue said of replacing the MTA with an East End transit authority.
Islanders opposed to participating in a proposed RegionalTransit Authority gave Town Board members an earful at Tuesday’swork session and encouraged them to tell officials advocating forthe plan that Shelter Island wants no part of it.
Former Supervisor Al Kilb, Cathy Raymond, Meddi Shaw, Art Bloom,Jim Staudenraus and Dering Harbor Mayor Tim Hogue spoke againsttown support of a state bill to put the creation of a new PeconicBay Transportation Authority to a non-binding public vote duringthe 2010 general election. Southold unanimously voted in favor ofthe bill last week. Certain state bills require “home rule supportfrom local municipalities prior to legislative action.
But a Town Board vote on the bill has been tabled for the timebeing, Town Supervisor Jim Dougherty reported at the opening of thework session discussion. The bill’s sponsors – Assemblyman FredThiele and State Senator Kenneth LaValle – are working to add thetown of Brookhaven to the five East End towns that would secedefrom the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) and form a newRegional Transit Authority (RTA). In the interim, Mr. Dougherty hasrequested that the amended bill stipulate that each town will havea separate, “free-standing vote should a referendum be authorizedby the state legislature. Otherwise, Island votes would be countedwith those of the other towns.
“Our constituents would be fully informed and they’d have achance to say yea or nay, the supervisor said, adding that SenatorLaValle’s request for Town Board support of the bill “will comeback.
The tabling of the bill did not stop Islanders from speaking outagainst it and they were joined by some of the Town Boardmembers.
“I wonder what they’re thinking, Councilman Ed Brown said.”Government will grow if a new transit authority involving thetowns is established. “Other towns are entitled to do what theywant, he said, implying that Shelter Island town wouldn’t want tobe a part of it. “I think it’s going to cost more than the MTAtax.
A new tax imposed on businesses in 2009 along with MTA plans toend daily North Fork train service east of Ronkonkoma has fueledthe renewed effort to create an alternate transit authority.
“If the MTA can’t make it financially, how do they expect abrand new service with no infrastructure and a small customer base… to succeed? Mr. Kilb asked.
Ms. Raymond asked where the transportation route would go andMs. Lewis responded, “This particular issue is not about that. Thecouncilwoman indicated that the proposed coordinated bus and railsystem, the East End Shuttle, “is totally separate from the RTAvote. The shuttle plan proposes more frequent bus and trainservices on both forks and a small bus on Shelter Island. In 2009,the plan was reviewed by the Volpe National Transportation SystemsCenter, a research arm of the U.S. Department of Transportation,which described an RTA as a feasible option that “gives the EastEnd communities greater control over the transit provided to theregion, but it also comes with greater financial and operatingrisk.
In Town Hall, Mr. Hogue expressed his concern that “you mightget on the train and not be able to get off – that is, approvingthe home rule request could put the town on an irreversible path toinvolvement in the RTA. About a public bus on Shelter Island, hesaid, “I see it as adding to our congestion. I always feel we’recarrying water for the Hamptons. I don’t see what benefit it is tous at this particular time.
Mr. Hogue concluded, “If we have these kind of concerns, shouldwe just say ¹”no’ now?
“God knows I’m ready to fight the state over everything, beganboard member Glenn Waddington, “but at some point we have to lookat what our authority is on that road, meaning State Route 114 andthe town’s right to keep a public bus off of it. He also commentedthat although a small bus is planned for Shelter Island, it couldbecome a big bus.
Patricia Shillingburg was the only speaker advocating for theRTA but she emphasized that the East End Shuttle plan could goforward with or without a bus on Shelter Island. The 12- to18-person bus envisioned for Shelter Island “might go back andforth on a hail bus system or a flex bus system that makes stopsoff route. No bus stops are planned for Shelter Island, shesaid.
“We do not have to have a bus. It is not an obligation, it is anopportunity, she said, an opportunity to serve senior citizens,workers and others.
Ms. Shaw’s opposition focused on the cost of an RTA, citing thehighest numbers listed in the Volpe report, over $200 million inup-front capital improvements and $46 million per year to operatethe most costly coordinated bus and train proposal. The currentconsensus proposal for a “Dual Concept system is estimated to cost$117 million to $148 million in initial capital improvements and$43.6 million in annual operating costs, according to the Volpereport. By comparison, the MTA’s reduced services cost the East Endan estimated $60 million per year.
Ms. Shaw suggested that any taxes the town would have to pay toa new transit authority could go instead to senior citizens. “Ifthere’s something that the seniors need, I’d be happy to help them,she added.
Jim Staudenraus said that transportation needs can be met by theprivate sector and charities. “If there really is a need, we’re 2percent of the population, but we’re 100 percent of the land-bridgeto the two forks.
Art Bloom said, “My occupation is Republican … This wholething is a joke. It’s not going to happen. The cost of driving acar is less than public transportation, he said.
Ms. Raymond spoke intensely saying, “I came to Shelter Islandabout 17 years ago because I seen what I liked – I didn’t come hereto bring what I left. She asked, “What seniors are going to go onthat bus, how are they going to get to that bus? We’ve always beendependent on ourselves.
Councilman Peter Reich said, “Take the 50 laborers that get offat North Ferry and have them get off at three different places onthe Island … We’d be hearing about it.
When pressed on the issue, Mr. Dougherty indicated that a publicinformation session would be scheduled before the Town Board voteon the revised home rule request.