• Connecticut and New York State DOTs expand SMART Ride Stuff Program.
  
  Rockland looks to the rails for congestion relief.
  
  
• MetroPool's Third Annual Leadership Awards.
  
  
• Winners of the Fourth Annual Earth Week Challenge.
  
  
• Results of the Third Annual Great Train Race.
  
  
• Compressed Work Week is a win-win situation at Raytheon.
  
  
• New tax relief for employers with traffic reduction plans in Connecticut.
  
  

Rockland County, New York, these days is poised on the brink of an exciting new adventure in transportation. Rocklanders have for decades now been trying to undo a misguided decision made in 1959 when the West Shore Passenger Rail Line closed for business. The time for celebration arrived this May, however, with a decision from NJ TRANSIT's Major Investment Study to pursue restoration of West Shore Passenger Service!

The New York Central Railroad, before 1959, operated the West Shore Line, which served the eastern parts of Rockland County to Weehawken. From the Weehawken Terminal, connections to Manhattan were made via ferry. But, as the bridges, tunnels and interstates were opened, rail and ferry services began to be replaced by bus routes and increased use of the automobile. When the New York Central Railroad couldn't persuade authorities in 1959 to let it abandon commuter service on the West Shore Line, it instead shut down its ferries at the Weehawken terminal. Trains still ran for awhile, but ridership fell from 5,500 to 300 a day without a way to cross the river.

After the closing of the West Shore in 1959, Rockland still enjoyed its pastoral ambience in the Hudson Valley, and roads were still more than travelable, since population was low, few residents had cars, and fewer still commuted out of the County. The West of Hudson communities served by the original West Shore Line in those days were more fortunate than people realized.

Since that time, circumstances have changed dramatically. Because Rockland has managed to maintain its countryside charm, it has made the County that much more desirable and vulnerable to residential development. With few established commuting options for Rocklanders, commuter gridlock has become a reality for this once sleepy Hudson Valley community. With the significant residential and employment growth in Rockland and Orange Counties, vehicular traffic at the established trans-Hudson crossings is now at an unbearable volume, and with more than 35 thousand Rocklanders trying to get to New York City every day for work, commuters are choking from the congestion.

A long-term solution is now at hand, with the recent announcement that NJ TRANSIT will pursue the restoration of West Shore Passenger service in conjunction with their selected combination of alternatives chosen in the West Shore Region Major Investment Study. The study, undertaken by NJ TRANSIT, Bergen County and Rockland County, has reviewed the potential for service restoration at great length, and all indications are that it may finally become a reality.

"West Shore is no longer just a dream, but rather a reality waiting to be funded," said Rockland Planning Commissioner Dr. James J. Yarmus at a recent West Shore informational forum held in Rockland. Critics are quick to point out that this is not the first time West Shore restoration has been studied. "However," said Dr. Yarmus, "this is the farthest any study has ever come before, and, perhaps most critical, the timing is right."

With the opening of Secaucus Transfer in 2002, the West Shore Line will eventually be able to move Rocklanders from West Nyack to Penn Station, NY in 65 minutes - including the transfer! And, if the West Haverstraw extension option of the study is considered, passengers from even the North Rockland area will be able to reach Midtown in less than 90 minutes - a feat close to impossible using transportation modes available to Rockland commuters during rush hour nowadays. Commuters bound for areas other than NYC, such as Westchester, will also benefit from the restoration of the West Shore, since an estimated 1,000 vehicles per day will disappear from the region's congested corridors such as I-287. Similarly, shoppers coming to the Palisades Center from outside of Rockland will have an alternative means of direct access to the mall, which will further assist in unclogging the roadways.

Said Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef, "The environmental and economic development benefits from the West Shore Line more than justify the investment being made. My administration solidly supports the restoration of the West Shore, and I will continue to direct Rockland's efforts in this project until we succeed at obtaining federal and state funding."

Timing appears to be good for gaining legislative support for the project's funding. "Congressman Ben Gilman (R-Greenville) has been monumentally supportive of the project from the start," said Yarmus, "and has already asked for funding for the project in Washington. Governor Pataki has expressed his support for the project and our other leaders in Albany know how vital this project is to the future of Rockland County."

The proposed line would run from Rockland to the Secaucus Transfer for passengers going to Midtown, then on to the Meadowlands Sports Complex stop, and on to Hoboken for those going Downtown. Rocklanders - whose only option today for traveling to the Meadowlands is to sit in traffic on the NJ Turnpike - will someday soon be able to travel right from their own backyards to the Sports Complex on a relaxing, leisurely one-seat ride on the West Shore Line. With the current momentum the West Shore project has built, all the crowded roads in Rockland these days seem to be leading to rail!