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$2.2 Million Federal grant for Syracuse Connective Corridor

 
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RailBus63
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 09, 2010 11:01 pm    Post subject: $2.2 Million Federal grant for Syracuse Connective Corridor Reply with quote

From Senator Charles Schumer's website:

SCHUMER ANNOUNCES OVER $2.2 MILLION IN FEDERAL GRANT FUNDING COMNIG TO SU CONNECTIVE CORRIDOR PROJECT

SU's Connective Corridor Serves as Centerpiece of Syracuse's Economic Development

Since 2005 Schumer has Secured Over $10 Million in Funding for Project

Schumer: Funding Will Create Jobs, Lead to Economic Development in Syracuse


Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that $2,250,000 in federal grant funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation will be coming to Syracuse University’s Connective Corridor Project to make major upgrades to downtown busing that will include real time arrival and departure times, infrastructure development to improve the existing bus network and a system that will better identify daily transportation problems and give operators the means to adjust.

“The Syracuse University Connective Corridor will energize the beating heart at the center of Syracuse; it is an investment that creates jobs, jumps starts commerce, improves vital infrastructure and builds a base for economic development,” Schumer said. “Safe, reliable and dependable transportation is critical for Syracuse’s long-term success and that’s exactly what we’re building in Central New York.”

Today’s $2.2 million in federal funding will be disbursed by DOT’s Federal Transit Administration to the Central New York Regional Transportation Authority. The CNY Transportation Authority will use the funds in collaboration with its partner, Syracuse University, to provide commuters with real time arrival and departure times for buses, improve existing infrastructure so that the current busing network runs more efficiently and introduce new technology on a pilot program basis to a set of 20 buses that will help drivers better identify transportation problems and adjust to them in real time.

The bus route operates twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and brings riders to arts and cultural locations including Syracuse Stage, the Everson Museum, the Museum of Science and Technology, the Civic Center, and the Landmark Theater. Over 500 student riders, over 65 faculty members, and numerous community riders utilize this bus route each day, with an estimated 225,000 riders per year. This functional and symbolic Connective Corridor signals SU's commitment to the regeneration and growth of downtown and provides a functional system of bus transportation for students and the community.

Schumer has a long history advocating for the connective corridor project. In 2005, he secured $1.5 million in funding during the fiscal year 2006 (FY06) appropriations process, and then in 2006 he was able $8 million in federal funding through that year’s transportation appropriations bill. Today’s $2.2 million funding announcement brings the total secured by Schumer to well over $10 million. Over the last 5 years he has worked personally with city, regional and University to develop the project and ensure that is has the resources it needs to move forward and provide 21st century transportation services to downtown Syracuse. Moving forward, Schumer will work to see that the project has what it needs to advance.
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RailBus63
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 8:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I keep waiting for this line to take off – it has tremendous potential. Syracuse University and its 13,000 full-time undergraduate students at one end, the popular Armory Square dining and entertainment district on the other. Yet it still seems like such a halfhearted effort – it started out as a weekend route and it has been propped up most recently by a combination with the 443 Warehouse Shuttle bus to a nearby SU facility. The routing has been designed to divert south a few blocks to the Everson art museum and the Civic Center, but few passengers seem to go there, creating the impression of a meandering route IMO. The weird 35-minute headway during evening hours can’t be helping, either (the schedule is here).

The press release mentions 20 buses will be equipped with the new technology. Currently, there are three Gillig 30-foot BRT buses wrapped for this service, although any 40-footer from the Centro fleet can (and often do) pinch-hit on these runs. Twenty buses seems like overkill unless the new technology will be expanded to other Centro routes eventually.

I hope this infusion of capital spending is a precursor to a more serious attempt to run this route at real headways which would encourage walk-up riding – otherwise, it will be a colossal waste of money that could be put to far better use elsewhere.
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HwyHaulier




Joined: 16 Dec 2007
Posts: 932
Location: Harford County, MD

PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 8:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

RailBus63 wrote:
... – otherwise, it will be a colossal waste of money that could be put to far better use elsewhere...

RailBus63 -

(Add laugh track here, acknowledging the implied dark humor.) So, there's a lot of this going around. Wastrels everywhere!
Maybe to advise the CDC about the possible pandemic?

...................Vern.....................
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