In testimony today, Regional Plan Association supported a legislative introduction on open data within New York City. The proposal introduced by Council Member Gale A. Brewer will implement a central data portal for all city records and enable innovative use of data. For research and advocacy organizations like RPA, easier access to data will enable us to be more effective in our work, as well as supporting our wider objectives of greater public participation in the planning process.

Read the testimony given by Frank Hebbert, Associate Planner, here.

This week New York State Department of Transportation in cooperation with Metro North Railroad and the New York State Thruway announced a transit-oriented development technical assistance program for those communities along the I-287 corridor which will have enhanced transit options as a result of the Tappan Zee Bridge project. Entitled "Building Quality Communities Around Transit," this program will provide communities from throughout Westchester and Rockland Counties with planning expertise and best practices from a team that includes Regional Plan Association, Project for Public Spaces, and Reconnecting America. 

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board of directors met today to discuss a revised finance agreement over the Atlantic Yards site between the agency and developer Forest City Ratner (FCR). At issue is whether the MTA should give FCR greater flexibility in making payments owed to the MTA for the right to develop the MTA's portion of the rail yards. Under terms made public earlier in the week, FCR would pay the MTA $20 million this year and pay the remaining amount off at 6.5% interest over the twenty years starting in 2012. Previously FCR agreed to pay the MTA $100 million up front for the same rights. See RPA's testimony after the fold.

RPA has weighed in on a dispute at the World Trade Center site between the developer Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.  At hand is whether the Port should assist Mr. Silverstein in securing financing for Towers 2 and 3.  The Port, which has resisted the request, has said the slowdown threatens progress with the remainder of the site.
 
RPA sent two letters to the Mayor, Governor Corzine and Governor Paterson, who will meet with the Port and Silverstein this week, regarding the dispute.  The first letter is from RPA and expresses our long-held beliefs that:

1. public funds should not be diverted to support the development of commercial office space at the World Trade Center site beyond the current commitments of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and LMDC.
2. the WTC site should be restored to support street life and connections to the rest of Lower Manhattan as quickly as possible.
3. commercial development in Lower Manhattan should be paced by the market, rather than public subsidies.

 
The second letter is from a number of civic groups that feel the Port should be investing in more important regional transportation initiatives rather than subsidizing commercial office space.
 
Read coverage in the Wall Street Journal, Crain's New York Business and New York Times.

In testimony today, the Regional Plan Association encouraged the City Planning Commission to approve the construction of the ARC Railroad Passenger Station and ventilation facilities as outlined in the ARC project application. RPA cited a good blend with current community character, optimal pedestrian entrance locations and well-integrated below grade connectivity with the transit network as reasons for supporting the station facility.
 
The Access to the Region's Core (ARC) project - which will double commuter rail access to Midtown from New Jersey -  will end the bottleneck of the 100 year old Amtrak tunnel which is the only trans-Hudson rail connection serving Manhattan. ARC is critical to maintaining regional mobility, which is the cornerstone of the metropolitan area economy.
 
Read the testimony of L. Nicolas Ronderos, RPA Director of Urban Development Programs.

Fairfield County residents, business leaders, and advocates gathered on May 14th in Norwalk to comment on the Connecticut Transportation Strategy Board's exploration of road pricing alternatives in Connecticut. The hearing followed the release of a study by Cambridge Systematics evaluating options such as border tolls, truck-only tolls, and congestion pricing. Amanda Kennedy, Associate Planner at RPA's Connecticut office, spoke in support of congestion pricing that would vary by time of day and road conditions, and an eventual transition to system-wide VMT pricing as a means to reduce congestion and fund the expansion of transit alternatives in congested corridors.

Read the Report (PDF 19.2MB)
Read the Testimony

Five months after former MTA chairman and RPA board member Richard Ravitch produced a finance package to bailout the cash-strapped MTA, the state has approved a plan that raises $2 billion a year in critically-needed new revenue for the region's transit system.  The plan will avert massive fare hikes and service cuts contained in the so-called MTA 'doomsday' budget and provide funding for the first two years of the upcoming MTA rebuilding program.  The revenue is raised from a broad base of taxes, fees and tolls across the 12-county MTA service region, covering all sectors who benefit from a healthy transit system including drivers, riders and businesses. The revenue sources are a modest fare increase, a payroll tax and a slew of driver-related fees including a taxi fee, vehicle registration fee, license fee and car rental tax. The vote in the Senate and Assembly caps a lengthy campaign waged by RPA-led coalition the Empire State Transportation Alliance to win approval of a robust plan.

Read the Press Release

A recent Washington Post editorial highlights the Business Alliance for Northeast Mobility's report on the future of the Northeast Corridor, noting that that high-speed rail is a key component of fixing the nation's aviation system. The editorial also calls for modernizing the nation's air traffic control system pointing out that that these investments are long overdue. The editorial claims that, "a car GPS navigation unit is more advanced than the 1950s-era equipment being used today." Read the full editorial here.

Download the Future of the Northeast Corridor

Fairfield residents, business owners, and elected officials gathered on Saturday, May 2 for a design charrette led by RPA to develop a vision for the town's Commerce Drive neighborhood. A new train station is currently under construction that will provide the area with Metro-North commuter rail service as early as next summer. The charrette is part of a year-long study to develop recommendations for new zoning and design guidelines that will enable future transit-oriented development. Five groups each worked with urban designers to develop master plans and recommendations, and over the next few months RPA will synthesize these plans into a consensus vision. The charrette participants considered the goals of affordability, fiscal impacts of development, and environmental concerns as they mapped out their plans for the future of the neighborhood.

Redesigning the Edgeless City, a collaborative planning and education event coordinated by Regional Plan Association and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, in Partnership with Capitol Region Council of Governments, will be held May 28th and 29th at the UConn Graduate Business Learning Center, 100 Constitution Plaza, Hartford.
 
This two-day professional development course will explore innovative land use and urban design techniques for creating communities in the Capitol Region that have the greatest quality of life and potential for long-term value.
 
The first day of the course will feature instruction by Lincoln Institute's Armando Carbonell; RPA's Bob Yaro, Robert Lane, and David Kooris; and Patrick Condon, University of British Columbia's James Taylor Chair in Landscape and Livable Environments.
 
On the second day of the course participants will engage in an interactive design process, applying the principles discussed on day one to select areas within the Capitol Region.  This year's course will focus particular attention on the pending transit investments and development patterns which will prepare the region for prosperity in an age of carbon-constraint.

Planning and policy advocates, city and state officials, developers, and citizen stakeholders are encouraged to enroll. Registration is $50 and participants of day 1 qualify for 5 AICP CM credits (approval pending). Financial assistance is available. To register, please fax or mail in the brochure with your payment, or to pay instantly by credit card, click here and note which days you will be attending.

Download the Brochure (PDF)

View Course Materials
Redesigning the Edgeless City (PDF 3.2MB)
America 2050 (PDF 9.3MB)
Greater Bridgeport Emissions Reduction Report (PDF 16MB)
Florida State Road 7 (PDF 6MB)
Green municipal engineering for sustainable communities (PDF 500K)
The Headwaters Project: A Sustainable Community Development in Surrey, BC (PDF 1MB)
Planning for Climate Change (PDF 500K)
Measuring Greenhouse Emissions (PDF 312K)

Atlas of Maps
High Resolution (PDF 27MB)
Low Resolution (PDF 3MB)

Presentations
Toward a National Infrastructure Plan for the 21st Century (PDF 5.4MB)
Armando Carbonell

Planning for Climate Change (PDF 560K)
From Environment to Green Infrastructure (PDF 3MB)
Planning 4 Climate Change (PDF 2.7MB)
Patrick Condon

Vibrant Centers for Emissions Reduction in Greater Bridgeport (PDF 19.6MB)
David Kooris

From Roads to Connections (PDF 5.3MB)
Remaking the Edgeless City (PDF 7.1MB) 
Robert Lane