When I wanted to find out exactly how much of Greater New York's rail network I had ridden, I searched the internet for information on how big the network actually is—and discovered that no one seems to know. So I added it up. Myself. (And discovered that I've ridden 72% of it.)
As it turns out, I was about 10 miles off in my calculation of the total route miles covered by the New York City region's rail network.
I have a new (and, some would say, unsurprising) goal: to ride all 1,370 miles of passenger rail currently in service in the New York City region. That means the entire rail networks operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New Jersey Transit, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
A writer at Streetsblog USA points out the inconsistency of building inefficient car-centric transportation systems and land-use patterns and then accusing transit of being inefficient when it fills in the gaps (and wide gaps they are).
On a cold, wet, windy night on the last day of winter, I stood up for my rights as a nonsmoker—and those of my two small children. But it's unclear whether the law is behind me.
Gothamist explains why a rail connection to LaGuardia has never happened—and, at the rate we're going, probably never will.
In a long overdue but very welcome announcement, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced plans to extend PATH to Newark Airport.
The American Dream has been defined for several generations now as an idyllic home in the suburbs, with a car to get you everywhere you need to go. But that dream appears to be something more of a nightmare, with Americans' dependence on automobiles leading to increased rates of a variety of ailments, "all of which can impair the quality and length of life," writes Jane E. Brody at nytimes.com.
Salt Lake City, a relatively small metro area in the heart of the Rocky Mountains that is also the capital of one of the most conservative states in the country, shows that you don't have to be a large, top-tier global city to have great, visionary transit.
The MTA is shutting down a section of the G train for 12 consecutive weekends starting Saturday, 6 July, to carry out necessary repairs. While I applaud the MTA's efforts, I offer some suggestions on what the agency can do to mitigate inconvenience to riders during this time.
Dustin Tyler Joyce 