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Improved service, new bus lines billed in MTA plan
The MTA unveiled a $25.5 billion capital plan Monday that would transform the No. 7 line and fund the first stretch of the Second Avenue Subway.
But the plan is banking on “significant” increases in federal funds and $10 billion that the MTA will have to wrestle from state lawmakers.
“That’s challenging, but it’s essential,” said Gene Russianoff, of the Straphangers Campaign.
Nearly half of the funding would go to NYC Transit projects, including:
• About 2,800 new buses, some to service six new rapid bus lines• More than 500 subway cars to replace old ones and increase service on the No. 7 and Broadway lines
• Provide new digital trains and additional service on the No. 7 line
• An easier, updated payment system to replace MetroCards• Station overhauls at 14 stops in Brooklyn and the Bronx
• Public address systems for the stations that lack them
Transit advocates wanted to see dollars set aside for the second phase of the Second Avenue Subway, but otherwise supported the four-year plan.
“Overall, I would give it an A minus,” said Jeffrey Zupan, of the Regional Plan Association.
The agency is inviting the public to comment on the 235-page plan through MTA.info before it goes to the MTA board in September.
The MTA is urging state lawmakers to approve the document and its funding by January, but negotiations could drag on well into 2010.
hhaddon@am-ny.com
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