Travel
Information Bulletin
March
– April, 2003
Regional
Commute Information At Your Fingertips! ……………….
(at your mouse-tips, if you please)!
At
the heart of a recent report on the performance of the State Highway
System is the observation that our highways cannot keep up with urban
congestion. The 2001 report
by the University of North Carolina can be summarized as follows:
-
In
analyzing overall trends, the study found that the U.S. road system
has continued to improve and has reached its best condition since
1984;
-
Capital
expenditures for major widenings and resurfacings
jumped 6.35%, maintenance
expenditures by 3.5%, and total disbursements by 6.0%;
-
Urban
interstate congestion was, however, considerably worse, showing a
large jump from 40.1% in 2000 to 50.9% in 2001.
It appears, therefore, that urban interstate congestion is
continuing to worsen.
It
becomes evident that we cannot letdown in our fight to mitigate congestion
on our roads and highways. The re-authorization of TEA-21 (i.e. Passage of
a new Surface Transportation Act) is expected by October of 2003.
Shadowing this effort is the constant realization that travel
demand will continue to increase: growth in passenger and freight travel, expansion
in population and attendant development, etc.
Strategies to manage demand thus become more critical for ensuring
a viable modicum of mobility. For
travelers, managing demand means selecting from
alternatives that offer choices of mode, location, route, and time.
The choices need to provide the elements of accessibility,
reliability, system performance and information in accessible and timely
format.
Commute
Alternative Programs and Commuter Choice Initiatives seek to make options
available to commuters throughout the region.
There are a number of endeavors in
the works to provide information to travelers in the lower Hudson region
in accessible and timely format. These efforts seek to demonstrate the
inter-connectivity of systems in the region, and to provide accessible and
timely information to enable travelers make the best choices.
There is the general recognition that Traveler Information is key
to the success of any commute program that attempts to change travel
behavior. Currently, Traveler Information is fragmented and resides at
different agencies in the region. These various agencies will have a
single access for travelers when implemented.
Until then, travelers can get information from the various TDM and
Transit Agencies in the region through their various websites.
Traveler
Information Web Addresses:
As
always, for more commute information, please contact us at:
SMART
COMMUTE Program at (914) 995-4444,
or e-mail us at tvo1@westchestergov.com
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