Friday, September 18, 2015

Queens Public Transit Committee Media Hits Page

Below is a list of Queens Public Transit Committee 'Media Hits' from every single news outlet on the the certain transportation issues that we are focusing on to date, in chronological order, for the QPTC. Note: All of the articles are have to do with the QPTC and the people who are involved it:

NY1:
"Queens Transit Advocates Rally Against Select Bus Service" - September 14, 2015
http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2015/09/14/queens-transit-advocates-rally-against-select-bus-service.html




Queens Chronicle:

Queens Courier:
"Transit advocates to rally in Elmhurst for improvements" - September 8, 2015
http://queenscourier.com/transit-advocates-to-rally-in-elmhurst-for-improvements/

"MTA plan includes restoring Rockaway Beach Rail Line" - October 7, 2013
http://queenscourier.com/mta-plan-includes-restoring-rockaway-beach-rail-line/

Queens Gazette:
"Letters to the Editor - Rockaway Rail Line" - April 1, 2015
http://www.qgazette.com/news/2015-04-01/Editorials/Letters_to_the_Editor.html

"Letters to the Editor - Mass Transit Betterment" - May 14, 2014
http://www.qgazette.com/news/2014-05-14/Editorials/Letters_to_the_Editor.html


"Letters to the Editor - Rockaway Beach Line" - February 26, 2014
http://www.qgazette.com/news/2014-02-26/Editorials/Letters_to_the_Editor.html

"Letters to the Editor - Improve Public Transit" - February 12, 2014
http://www.qgazette.com/news/2014-02-12/Editorials/Letters_to_the_Editor.html

"Letters to the Editor - A Cross-Borough Bus" - Fedruary 5, 2014
http://www.qgazette.com/news/2014-02-05/Editorials/Letters_to_the_Editor.html

"Rockaway Ferry Service to Remain Ferry Operational" - January 22, 2014
http://www.qgazette.com/news/2014-01-22/Features/Rockaway_Ferry_Service_To_Remain_Operational.html
"Letters to the Editor - No QueensWay" - January 15, 2014
http://www.qgazette.com/news/2014-01-15/Editorials/Letters_to_the_Editor.html

"Letters to the Editor - Rockaway Beach Line" - January 8, 2014
http://www.qgazette.com/news/2014-01-08/Editorials/Letters_to_the_Editor.html

"WRBA To Host Forum On The Rockaway Beach Branch Rail Line" - December 4, 2013
http://www.qgazette.com/news/2013-12-04/Features/WRBA_To_Host_Forum_On_The_Rockaway_Branch_Rail_Lin.html
"Letters to the Editor - Bus Service Folly" - May 22, 2013
http://www.qgazette.com/news/2013-05-22/Editorials/Letters_to_the_Editor.html

"Letters to the Editor - Organize Against MTA" - April 17, 2013
http://www.qgazette.com/news/2013-04-17/Editorials/Letters_to_the_Editor.html

"Letters to the Editor - A Vision For Rockaway" - March 6, 2013
http://www.qgazette.com/news/2013-03-06/Editorials/Letters_to_the_Editor.html

Queens Ledger:





"Queens Borough President discusses QueensWay feasibility" - January 22, 2014
http://www.queensledger.com/view/full_story/24431609/article-Queens-Borough-President-discusses-QueensWay-feasibility?



Queens Tribune:
"Who Can Help?" - May 23, 2013
http://queenstribune.com/who-can-help/

"MTA Junk" - May 16, 2013
http://queenstribune.com/mta-junk/

Ridgewood Times Newsweekly:
"Transit advocates to rally in Elmhurst for improvements" - September 10, 2015
http://www.timesnewsweekly.com/news/2015-09-10/Local_News/Transit_advocates_to_rally_in_Elmhurst_for_improve.html




"Letters to the Editor - Says MTA Bus Service Can't Handle Crowds" - April 11, 2013
http://www.timesnewsweekly.com/news/2013-04-11/Letters/Letters_To_The_Editor.html

Rockaway Times:
"The Queens Transit meeting report" - August 28, 2014
http://rockawaytimes.com/2014/08/28/queens-transit-meeting-report/

"Transit needs get heard" - August 14, 2014
http://rockawaytimes.com/2014/08/14/transit-needs-get-heard/

"Ferry grim news: City leaves boat at the dock" - July 3, 2014
http://rockawaytimes.com/2014/07/03/ferry-grim-news-city-leaves-boat-dock/

The Forum:
"Welding Concerns About Rockaway Rail Line Plans, Woodhaven Group  Demands Voices Be Heard" - December 5, 2015
http://theforumnewsgroup.com/2013/12/05/wielding-concerns-about-rockaway-rail-line-plans-woodhaven-group-demands-voices-be-heard/

"Majority of Boro Residents Back QueensWay, Poll Says" - October 28, 2013
http://theforumnewsgroup.com/2013/10/28/majority-of-boro-residents-back-queensway-poll-says/

"MTA Report Gives Hope to Residents Crossing Their Fingers for a New Rail Line" - October 11, 2013
http://theforumnewsgroup.com/2013/10/11/mta-report-gives-hope-to-residents-crossing-their-fingers-for-a-new-rail-line/

"Rally To Reactive Rockaway Rail Line" - August 29, 2013
http://theforumnewsgroup.com/2013/08/29/rallying-to-reactive-rockaway-rail-line/

"Study Launched To Transform Rockaway Rail Line Into Park" - August 22, 2013
http://theforumnewsgroup.com/2013/08/22/study-launched-to-transform-rockaway-rail-line-into-park/


The Wave:














"Q53 Is A Horror." - March 1, 2013



Times Ledger:
"Copper cable theft shuts down A train service to Rockaways" - May 27, 2015
http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2015/22/train_2015_05_29_q.html

"Queens transit has lost a friend" - September 22, 2014
http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2014/38/mcmanus_all_2014_09_19_q.html

"Rockaway calls on city to keep funding ferry" - July 3, 2014
http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2014/27/rockawayferry_tl_2014_07_03_q.html

"Mayor should consider Rockaway line reactivation" - March 4, 2014
http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2014/9/mcmanus_all_2014_02_28_q.html

"City extends Rockaway ferry" - January 23, 2014
http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2014/4/ferry_tl_2014_01_24_q.html

"Project for QueensWay steadily progresses" - December 20, 2013
http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2013/51/crawford_all_2013_12_20_q.html

"Study will examine rail line" - November 27, 2013
http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2013/48/railstudy_tl_2013_11_29_q.html

"Agency to consider Rockaway rail revival" - October 11, 2013
http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2013/41/rockrail_tl_2013_10_11_q.html

"Avella supports reactivation of old Rockaway train line" - August 10, 2013
"MTA needs to communicate better" - June 17, 2013
http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2013/24/mcmanus_all_2013_06_13_q.html

"MTA must improve Rockaway bus service" - June 12, 2013
http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2013/23/mcmanus_all_2013_06_06_q.html


"Reactivate Rockaway Beach Line for Good of Queens" - May 28, 2013
http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2013/21/mcmanus_all_2013_05_24_q.html
"MTA must improve Rockaway transit" - April 24, 2013
http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2013/16/mcmanus_all_2013_04_19_q.html
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Wednesday, July 8, 2015

The Queens Public Transit Committee (QPTC) will be at the Elmhurst Community Center on Saturday, July 11, 2015

MEDIA ADVISORY:
 
                The Queens Public Transit Committee (QPTC) 
             will be at the Elmhurst Community Center 
To Discuss The Rockaway Branch Line Rail Restoration And 
      AGAINST the application of SBS (Select Bus Service) on Woodhaven Blvd
            
DATE: Saturday, July 11, 2015 
                 from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm
        CONTACT: QPTC Chairman Philip McManus at: PhilAMcManus@gmail.com
                                or by phone at: 718-679-5309
On Saturday, July 11, 2015, from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm, the QPTC will be at the Elmhurst Community Family Health Fair at St James Community Hall,  84-07 Broadway, Elmhurst, Queens, NY 11373.
City Hall has created a major transportation crisis in Queens with the proposed Woodhaven Blvd. Select Bus Service.We need to expand our railways not eliminate: 
numerous travel lanes, 
numerous bus stops, 
numerous left turns, 
numerous parking spaces,
narrow remaining travel lanes, 
replace travel lanes with exclusive bus and bike lanes, 
and lower the speed limit to 25 mph,
which is causing miles of gridlock and lost productivity, 
increase commercial traffic and pollution on residential streets,
increase travel times and expenses including more devious speeding and lane camera tickets, 
higher taxes, 
increase emergency response times, and further isolate, separate and divide Queens communities. 

Why does our city spend ($32 Billion) on railway expansion in Manhattan only and demand that the outer boroughs pay with higher taxes, tickets, traffic, pollution, poverty and less services? 

Is this equality?  

City Hall is stealing our time, freedom and prosperity with longer transit commutes, taxes and increased enforcement. Select Bus Service, QueensWay, Vision Zero and Transportation Alternatives is killing Queens.

Queens must unite and expand our railway system now. 

Philip McManus

Queens Public Transit Committee
Faster transportation will create more social, economic, recreational, and environmental opportunities.  

Facebook:
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Sunday, June 21, 2015

The Queens Public Transit Committee (QPTC) is presenting a movement and petition AGAINST the application of SBS (Select Bus Service) on Woodhaven Blvd

             MEDIA ADVISORY:
                The Queens Public Transit Committee (QPTC) 
           is presenting a movement and petition 
      AGAINST the application of SBS (Select Bus Service) on Woodhaven Blvd

           DATE: June 21, 2015

        CONTACT: QPTC Chairman Philip McManus at: PhilAMcManus@gmail.com
                                or by phone at: 718-679-5309

The QPTC will be at the Bayswater meeting on Monday and will be available for comment at that time. The Bayswater Civic Association invited the QPTC to present a public presentation on our group and our ideas including QueensRail, ferry, subway, bus and roadway service on Monday, June 22, 2015 at 8:00 pm. 


Another presentation will be given on Tuesday, June 30, 7:30 pm at the:
Howard Beach /Lindenwood Civic Association at St. Helen's School basement
157 Avenue and 83 Street in Howard Beach. 

Visitors to our site are encouraged to print the petition, sign, scan and email it to

QPTC Chairman Philip McManus who is available for comment and interviews by the media at:

or by phone at: (718) 679-5309

Please RSVP in advance with Philip McManus.

__________________________________________________

We, the users of Woodhaven and Cross Bay Boulevards, oppose the introduction of Select Bus Service (SBS), sometimes called Bus Rapid Transit, for the following reasons:
·            SBS was pre-determined by the city and the Department of Transportation as the solution to traffic and transportation problems. Funds were allocated for SBS prior to the first Community Meeting where it was presented merely as an "alternative." There has been no meaningful community participation!

·            Meetings and workshops were then held in which only the positive aspects of the plan were presented. One had to closely inspect the diagrams at the workshops to ascertain some of the negatives. Others were never disclosed.

SBS is Bad for Drivers:

·            On the northern portion of Woodhaven, two of the eight thru lanes will become local lanes only, separated by new islands, which will narrow the lanes making it difficult to pass large trucks and buses.

·            Two lanes will become bus lanes at all times. Right and left turn lanes will be eliminated slowing traffic.

·            This means that at major intersections such as Metropolitan Avenue, Myrtle Avenue, Jamaica Avenue, and Rockaway Boulevard, 10 travel lanes will be reduced to 4 lanes for cars and trucks at all times.  That's a 60 percent reduction in the capacity for traffic to enter and go through major intersections.

·            23 left turn movements on Woodhaven will be banned, in addition to the 60 that are already banned. You will be able to turn left about once every mile and probably not until the third turning cycle.

·            All left turn lanes on Cross Bay will be eliminated, forcing you to change lanes to go straight, slowing traffic.

·            Bus stops will be lengthened eliminating many parking spaces.

·           At Metropolitan Avenue all left turn traffic will be redirected to the narrow residential Trotting Course Lane, which will be become a two-way street and will have to accommodate large trucks.

·            Emergency response times will increase since emergency vehicles will get stuck behind buses picking up passengers at bus stops. They will have to cross to clogged lanes of traffic before being able to jump the divider into the opposing traffic lane. New trees will prevent them from easily crossing into the service roads.

·            The new lower speed limit of 30 mph has already gone into effect on Woodhaven. It will increase travel times and expenses since speed cameras will issue large fines. Police officers with radar guns will be able to issue summonses to vehicles traveling at just 32 or 35 mph. The speed limit on the bridges may also be reduced. 

·            Travel times will double with heavy traffic at all times instead of only during rush hours while bus lanes will be largely unused.  Your average speed will be reduced to 10 or 15 mph.


SBS is Bad for Bus Passengers:

·            Promises of faster passenger travel are a myth. During the off-peak hours when there are few buses on the road and traffic currently moves rather quickly, bus travel times will increase. There isn’t a shred of evidence that travel times will be improved by 35% as alleged.

·            A lower speed limit will mean buses will have to travel more slowly which will increase operating costs.

·            Longer buses will mean fewer buses since service levels are based on crowding levels.

·            Local Bus Service will be reduced as riders shift to Select Bus Service (SBS).

·            It will be impossible for express and SBS buses to pass local buses at most bus stops during the rush hour.

·            Fewer bus stops in Broad Channel and the Rockaways will result in longer walks to bus stops and will overcrowd beaches near remaining bus stops. Boardwalk businesses near Beach 105 Street will be harmed.

·            Current SBS routes exhibit major problems that the MTA is keeping secret, such as broken fare machines that are not repaired in a month's time and passengers receiving fines in excess of $100 although the bus driver tells them they can board the bus. Pavement markings are not maintained and wear out after only one year.

·            Ridership is down on in the past year on most SBS routes or fewer riders are paying their fare.


How Deception is Being Used to Promote SBS:

·            None of the questions or requests for data from the public has been answered.

·            One had to attend all four workshops to learn where all 23 left turning movements will be banned. DOT has not kept its promise to list on their website the locations where turns will be banned. Neither is there a list available of which bus stops will be removed.

·            The width of Woodhaven Boulevard was exaggerated to falsely give the impression that lanes can be removed without any negative impacts.

·            All publicity for the meetings was geared to bus riders, keeping drivers in the dark regarding proposed plans.

·            Two new bus stops will be added in Ozone Park and the Q52 will be extended to Far Rockaway. Both changes will increase ridership and can be accomplished now without waiting for SBS. However, by delaying these changes, the increased ridership will be attributed to SBS making it appear to be a success.

Why You Should Sign This Petition


·           The same powerful groups who support QueensWay (to rob us of repurposing the abandoned Rockaway Line also known as QueensRail) support SBS. It is a cunning plan to take away our time, freedom, and prosperity.

·            QueensRail would greatly speed travel times as well as spur economic development. Yet it wasn't even included in the study of the Woodhaven Corridor.

·            Faster bus and car travel times have been promised by reducing road capacity for cars and trucks and lowering speed limits. There has not been a shred of proof how this will be accomplished. Where is the data from the traffic and transit forecasting models? Why isn’t it being shared?  We have not been dealt with honestly.

·            The project cost increased from a $20 million initial cost to $231 million plus ongoing costs of at least $2 million per year. No one has explained how the additional monies will be spent or how spending ten times as much will increase the benefit tenfold. This is your tax money, not “free” federal money.

·            SBS costs more to operate than traditional Local and Limited Service, primarily because of the high cost to guard against fare evasion, yet provides limited benefits and many disadvantages such as longer walks to bus stops. The B44 SBS has been such a failure that no first year assessment has been made public due to the fear of jeopardizing planned new routes. Paid ridership is down by 8% in the first year of operation.

·            Queens Rail has been dismissed as too expensive when it could be built for not much more than what Queensway and Bus Rapid Transit would cost together. Contrary to claims, Queens Rail (the restoration of rail service to the Rockaway Beach Line) has NOT been extensively studied, openly, and fairly in comparison to the SBS: not like SBS/BRT, light rail, and subway in the Second Avenue Subway study. In short, Queens Rail has gotten the short shrift. What's fair and good for Manhattan should be fair and good for Queens.


I am signing this petition because we deserve to have Queens united through better transportation, not divided by a plan that greatly hurts drivers and businesses, while providing minimum if any benefits to bus riders.

Signed: ________________________________________     Date: ___/___/2015
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Friday, May 22, 2015

Queens Public Transit Committee's encounter with Mayor DeBlasio

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!

We held an emergency transportation rally today to protest our Mayor's incompetence and discrimination of the Queens transportation system and the outer boroughs on Friday, May 22, 2015 at 2:30 pm at 94 Street and Shore Front Pkwy., Rockaway Beach.
Here's our message to the Mayor.We need immediate improvements including: 
  • Expand railway service in the outer boroughs including the QueensRail and Triboro RX. 
  • Expand citywide Ferry service. 
  • Increase service and maintenance on the Rockaway Shuttle and A train, 
  • Repave our roadways. 
  • Eliminate the tolls on Rockaway bridges.
  • Extend bus routes to eliminate unnecessary transfer delays. 
  • Increase bus service on our highways, bridges and tunnels. 
We're looking to unite our city with faster transportation which gives us more transportation options and economic opportunities! 

We want the City to stop stealing our time, freedom and prosperity by giving us fewer travel lanes, lower speed limits, less bus stops, left turns, and less parking with more traffic tickets and enforcement.
We also want to stop Select Bus Service, Vision Zero and the QueensWay park plan! 
Stop discriminating against Queens!
Stop separating, isolating and dividing Queens and the outer Boroughs. 

The citizens of New York City will never support a Mayor who doesn't listen to the people. 

You can tell the media and our Mayor (a/k/a The Great Transportation Mayor) how you feel about the issues we raise. Come to future rallies, brings posters and your friends!!! We must fight for what's right!!!
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Saturday, May 16, 2015

Ten myths about select and rapid-transit buses

Allan Rosen's comments appeared in the Queens Chronicle newspaper and is a member of QPTC. The title speaks for itself. The item below represents the position of QPTC and was developed within the group.

Ten myths about select and rapid-transit buses

by Allan Rosen, | Posted: Thursday, April 16, 2015 10:30 am

Let’s examine things we’re being told about Select Bus Service and Bus Rapid Transit that aren’t true.
1. SBS/BRT is the best cost-effective solution to improve north-south travel in the Woodhaven-Cross Bay Boulevard corridor.
Actually, restoring the abandoned Rockaway Beach Line offers more advantages. It provides faster trips without removing two needed general traffic lanes. Studies have shown the public prefers rail to bus. Rail will stimulate development. The RBL is also greener and quieter because it uses electric power. It won’t impede first responders, unlike the design the city Department of Transportation has chosen.
The DOT cannot be trusted to provide truthful figures. It had been touting $28 million for SBS, then it suddenly escalated the cost to $200 million with BRT. That cost could double if any of the work has to be redone such as switching to Option 1 midstream, because emergency response times increase. Pedestrian islands may have to be ripped out, as happened several years ago in front of Maimonides Hospital in Brooklyn, when these islands were installed without discussions with EMS personnel.
There also are plans to destroy the RBL with the QueensWay trail, which has been priced at $120 million, and would likely escalate. The combined BRT and Queens-Way costs approach the cost of restoring the RBL, which provides a far superior level of service. Regulatory flexibility to permit shared LIRR/subway operations or an LIRR/subway transfer at Aqueduct or Howard Beach eliminates the cost of a new bridge across Jamaica Bay.
2. SBS/BRT will encourage drivers to switch to buses.
The number of transfers and fares needed to make a trip will not be reduced, a major reason why many choose to drive. Therefore motorists will not switch modes to compensate for the loss of general traffic lanes.
3. SBS increases bus reliability.
SBS buses operate no more reliably than local bus routes. SBS buses frequently arrive in bunches along Second Avenue in Manhattan and along Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn. Many passengers see no improvement over the former Limited service SBS replaced.
4. Buses traveling faster equates with faster trip times for bus passengers.
Actually, for someone to fully benefit from bus travel time savings, they must ride from the first stop until the last stop, which few passengers do. There will be no savings for the passenger of up to 35 percent as DOT’s press release claims.
5. Bus passengers will save time during the off-peak.
During the midday before 3 p.m., in the evening and on weekends, buses already travel the maximum allowable speed and would not travel any faster because of exclusive bus lanes.
6. The needs of automobile drivers will be met.
Only the needs of bus riders have been considered, though they account for only one-third of the road’s users. The DOT admits that the majority — 57 percent — of Woodhaven Corridor residents own cars, though they state the negative that 43 percent of the households do not own cars.
The DOT also plans to ban left turns at Metropolitan Avenue and Rockaway Blvd. It claims that this won’t negatively impact drivers, but that is wrong. Drivers will have to travel farther and be forced to first travel in the opposite direction of where they want to go.
7. Traffic will improve after BRT is completed.
Traffic will significantly worsen with two lanes for general travel removed, and mergers from four lanes to three will become mergers of three lanes to two. The net result is increased congestion for motorists and also commercial vehicles as there is no nearby alternative north-south route. That includes livery cabs that transit-dependent residents rely on for doctor’s appointments and shopping,
8. Three lanes for general traffic will be maintained throughout the corridor.
Although this is what the DOT had promised throughout the process, only two lanes for general traffic will be maintained where Woodhaven passes beneath and above the LIRR, and a two-lane option is being considered for Cross Bay Boulevard as well.
9. Construction will be completed within a year.
None of the DOT’s past time estimates has been accurate. Even the first-year assessment for the B44 SBS is over four months late.
10. Community involvement has been adequate throughout.
Questions asked one year ago still have not been responded to, and there has been no outreach specifically for automobile drivers, who are mostly unaware of the BRT plans, which will greatly affect them. SBS was a predetermined conclusion before the first public meeting.
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Thursday, February 12, 2015

FEBRUARY 26, 2015 QUEENS PUBLIC TRANSIT COMMITTEE MEETING NOTICE



FEBRUARY 26, 2015 

QUEENS PUBLIC TRANSIT COMMITTEE MEETING NOTICE

The Queens Public Transit Committee seeks faster transportation to create more social, economic, recreational, and environmental opportunities so join us!

      The Queens Public Transit Committee will conduct their next monthly transportation meeting on:

     Thursday,  February 26, 2015 between 7:30 pm and 9:00 pm (Fourth Thursday of the month) at:

                                                            Knights of Columbus Hall
333 Beach 90th Street 
2nd Floor
Rockaway Beach, N.Y. 11693

Agenda
Committee reports
Citywide Ferry service 
"A" and Shuttle train service
Rockaway Beach Line (the new Queens Cross Town)
Select Bus Service (Woodhaven and Cross Bay Boulevard)
Local, Limited and Express Bus Service
LIRR 
Eliminate Bridge Tolls 
Roadways
Nominations
50/50

Due to limited space availability please RSVP via phone or email.

Philip McManus 
PhilAMcManus@gmail.com
718-679-5309
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