LITP 2000 Re-Cap

The current planning process to create the Long Island Transportation Plan to Manage Congestion -- LITP 2000 -- is being conducted according to federal guidelines because federal funds may be sought for any major transportation investments which may be recommended at the conclusion of LITP 2000. To date, the first two steps of the LITP 2000 process have been completed (see LITP 2000 Process flow diagram), with valuable public input via the various opportunities for joining in the planning process. Hundreds of potential solutions have been suggested. In the coming months, these will all be evaluated: first, to eliminate any which have obvious, major defects; second, to combine individual solutions into unified strategies of complementary actions; and third, to determine which strategies would most effectively and safely improve the movement of people and goods, without significant adverse environmental or community effects, and in a cost-effective, affordable way.

Some of LITP 2000's recommendations for congestion management may be relatively small-scale, low-cost projects which could be undertaken with minimal additional study. Others, though, are likely to be major transportation initiatives requiring subsequent detailed design and engineering studies; completion of the necessary environmental review process(es), including detailed regional air quality analyses; identification of committed funding; coordination with the larger region's long range transportation plan; and construction.

Did You Know? Quick Facts and Figures

You know Long Island suffers from traffic congestion because you live with it. But did you know that most of Long Island's recurring traffic congestion is due to travel to and from work? Did you know that:

• nearly 77% of Long Island's residents work in either Nassau or Suffolk Counties and virtually all the rest work in New York City;
• nearly one million residents of Nassau and Suffolk Counties travel to work by driving alone, significantly more than did in 1980;
• 20% of Nassau and 14% of Suffolk residents travel more than one hour to work each day;
• 24% of Long Island's households own three or more vehicles;
• without improved transportation and better management of travel demand, the number of miles of congested highway lanes is projected to increase by 65 to 75% during morning and afternoon rush hours by the year 2020, resulting in longer delays and slower speeds.

Get Involved...

A Message from the Project Director

LITP 2000, Moving People/Moving Goods, our Study's slogan, is designed to give a sense of motion towards a better future.

We think it also aptly reflects the progress we've made towards creating the Long Island Transportation Plan to Manage Congestion, since we introduced you to the process in our Fall 1997 newsletter. Since then, LITP 2000 has been moving ahead with great strides in the technical aspects, including:

• existing traffic congestion levels and locations have been defined in detail and mapped;
• future congestion levels and locations have been projected and mapped;
• hundreds of potential congestion management solutions of all types have been suggested by Long Islanders from all walks of life; and
• the methodology and criteria for evaluating potential solutions have been further refined.

We're pleased to say that we've had tremendous response from many people throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties -- government, business, communities, interest groups, and the general public. You have joined enthusiastically in this important planning process; your input and insights have helped shape LITP 2000. As we've said before, the true key to making this planning process a success and to creating a lasting transportation plan that Long Islanders will endorse is the active involvement of the people who live and work on the Island and care about its future.

We urge you to continue your interest in this exciting endeavor. Don't stop with this newsletter...after you've read the last page, visit the web site (www.LITP2000.com), call the 24-hour hotline (1-888-670-LITP), write us with your ideas and comments, and look for announcements about future radio and TV broadcasts about the Study.

We look forward to continuing our partnership for Long Island's future.

Wayne Ugolik
Project Director
New York State Department of Transportation

The 2020 Traffic Report...Without LITP 2000

Excess demand is a transportation planning term which means, simply, that there are more people or vehicles using a transportation service than that service can effectively accommodate. On Long Island, you witness excess demand every time you get stuck in traffic. And that happens repeatedly on many roads all over the Island. They say a picture is worth a thousand words...the map to the left speaks loudly and clearly about the amount of traffic overload we'll see on our major roadways by the year 2020 IF we don't do something about it. Each roadway segment in red will be operating with excess demand -- this means delay, wasted time, and frustration for Long Island's motorists for years to come. LITP 2000 wants to change the traffic forecast before it happens.

Tomorrow's Congestion...If We Let It Happen

Ideas Come in All Shapes and Sizes

You have some great ideas! We asked for suggestions on possible congestion management and mobility solutions. We asked you to use your knowledge about travel on Long Island and think creatively about how it might be better. We asked you to think about different ways of travel, including non-motorized means. We asked you to get involved.

To date, hundreds of suggestions have been received. Suggestions have come from several sources: the LITP 2000 subcommittees, comprised of technical experts and volunteers from throughout the Island; audience participants and telephone call-ins to last November's televised town meeting about LITP 2000; the telephone hotline; and letters.

Here's a small sampling of the types of suggestions made by Long Islanders of all walks of life, including your neighbors (if you want to see more, visit the web site at www.LITP2000.com):

Transit Options

• coordinate bus and train schedules for easy transfers
• improve bus-to-bus connections
• expanded; north/south; express; subscription; more frequent bus services
• special lanes for buses
• light rail, rapid transit in various corridors, highway medians
• various rail expansion, extension, electrification schemes
• foster ferry service
• more station-area parking; satellite parking; various parking fee structures
• single pass for use on all public transit
• modify transit fare structures to encourage use
• better services in low-density areas
• welfare-to-work services

Ridesharing, Commute Options

• flexible work hours for transit users
• employer tax incentives for telecommuting/carpooling/other
• preferential parking for carpools at office/industrial sites
• incentives for employees to carpool, vanpool
• EZ Pass price breaks for carpools in peak travel periods
• area-wide computer ridematching
• expand tele- and video-conferencing facilities use
• staggered work hours, compressed work weeks
• expand park and ride lots

Highway/Roadway Options

• expand HELP for stranded motorists
• better traffic info., e.g., improved variable message signs
• better synchronization of traffic lights
• HOV lanes with tolls based on auto occupancy
• network of HOV lanes
• peak/off-peak pricing of road use
• increased law enforcement on roadways
• better street signage
• traffic calming on residential streets
• widen Southern State Parkway
• bridge across Long Island Sound

Land Use/Zoning/ Funding Options

• more mixed-use developments to reduce auto use
• improved planning for driveway and intersection spacing
• shared or combined driveways for adjacent uses
• zoning incentives for shared driveways, parking lots
• connect developments internally, on site
• common parking areas in village commercial centers
• transit-friendly land use
• create multi-town committees to review projects, transportation

Goods Movement Options

• fee-sticker program for off-peak truck use of HOV lanes
• over-height warning system to reduce bridge clearance problems
• truck-climbing lanes on steeply graded roadway sections
• policies for funding rail construction
• incentives for development near existing rail spurs
• intermodal freight facility on Long Island
• convert old LIRR passenger cars to freight cars
• subsidize shift from truck to rail or waterborne transport
• customer-distributor matching to reduce empty return trips
• routing advisories via internet

Non-Motorized Options

• regional bike network, bike-only routes
• expand, improve bike facilities at railroad stations
• bike-pedestrian bridges over highways
• longer lights on wide roads for pedestrians
• create bike/pedestrian laws for municipalities to follow
• install mid-block crosswalks
• more transit service for elderly/special needs
• consider bike/pedestrian/ special needs in all proposed projects
• funding for bike/pedestrian/special needs advocacy groups

Other Ideas

• improved travel options to/from/between airports
• regional passenger info. system for all travel modes
• daycare, other services at transit hubs, work sites

Each of these and all of the hundreds of other suggestions will be evaluated in the next months to determine which would work best to improve how people travel and goods are moved on Long Island; where on the Island they might be most effective; and which would, in fact, be affordable.

Public Involvement Update

On November 19, 1997, nearly 48,000 households -- about 110,000 people -- in the New York region watched a televised Town Hall Meeting to introduce LITP 2000. About 100 Long Islanders and others interested in LITP 2000 joined us in the TV studio. Another 1,000 people called the studio during the show with comments, questions, and suggestions. We were thrilled we could tell so many people about LITP 2000 and invite them all to participate in the planning process. But that was just the kick-off...we've had lots of public input since then and invite you to keep those calls and letters coming. Here's an update on what's happened and how you can stay involved:

LITP 2000's six Technical Subcommittees -- with more than 100 public volunteers and about 50 technical experts -- have been meeting on a monthly basis since last Fall. Each subcommittee has been focusing on different aspects of how to improve the movement of people and goods on Long Island: 1) transit, ridesharing and commuting options; 2) bicycle and pedestrian options and special travel needs; 3) cargo movement; 4) auto travel; 5) how land use and zoning could influence transportation; and 6) getting the public involved in the planning process. You can read what your fellow Long Islanders have accomplished; each subcommittee's meeting notes and their suggestions for improving transportation -- hundreds of them! -- are posted on the web site at www.LITP2000.com.

The LITP 2000 Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) has 8 new members to broaden the spectrum of participants: representatives from a rail commuters association and a bicycle advocacy group and 1 person from each of the 6 technical subcommittees to provide first-hand input from the subcommittees' membership.

When the number of public volunteers for the subcom-mittees exceeded the number of available slots, a Public Committee on Transportation Mobility was created as another way to hear from you. Nearly 100 Long Islanders have joined this subcommittee to offer suggestions and feedback on LITP 2000. Notes from their meetings are also available at www.LITP2000.com.

In the first six months of the 24-hour telephone hotline (1-888-670-LITP) service, we received over 700 calls. Some callers: asked to be added to the LITP 2000 mailing list; volunteered to join subcommittees; asked for LITP 2000 information; and offered suggestions on how to improve transportation on Long Island. Follow their example and call us...we're listening.

www.LITP2000.com ...

• Review LITP 2000's goals and objectives.
• Read the latest on the subcommittees' discussions and suggestions.
• Learn how all suggested solutions will be evaluated.
• Find out about upcoming public broadcasts.
• Visit; read; talk to us.

LITP 2000
c/o NYSDOT
P.O. Box 222262
Great Neck, NY 11022-2262