The ideas—many of which are considered political hot potatoes—were presented Friday to a state panel that’s studying transit needs on the new Tappan Zee Bridge and Interstate 287.

The panel’s finance committee put together a list of about a dozen ways bus and train improvements could be funded. The overall 31-member task force now must determine which options to recommend in its final report, due by the end of the year.

“Each one of the options has its pros and cons,” Joan McDonald, the state department of transportation commissioner, told the task force. “These will be extremely difficult choices ahead of us.”

For example, using parking revenue from transit-related facilities would be especially contentious in Rockland, where bus commuters currently don’t pay fees at park-and-ride lots.

Another option is to impose a special tax within a designated zone. Residents and businesses in that area would directly benefit from the transit improvements, but it would likely be difficult to define those boundaries, the finance committee said in its report. The report also suggested looking at various types of bonds, Tappan Zee Bridge tolls, congestion pricing, and real estate transfer taxes to pay for mass transit.

New taxes or higher tolls would likely spark public outcry, officials said.

“We need to be thinking about public information and education,” said Harriet Cornell, chairwoman of the Rockland County Legislature. “If we are going to be asking them for some kind of contribution, they need to understand what the benefits are.”

Though the panel hasn’t officially decided which mode of transportation it will focus on, members are leaning toward improving Tappan ZEExpress bus service and recommending a bus rapid transit system for the future, Cornell said after the meeting.

The Tappan Zee Bridge mass transit task force was formed last year after county leaders charged that the bridge replacement project doesn’t adequately address mass transit needs. The panel has until the end of the year to come up with recommendations for improving transit and paying for those enhancements.

(The Tappan Zee Bridge photographed from Townsend Avenue in Nyack on May 9, 2013. ( John Meore/The Journal News )

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A White Plains woman who has become a national advocate for banning the use of electronic devices while driving  is set to speak to parents and teens in Carmel.

Jacy Good will speak on May 21 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Donald B. Smith Campus of the Bureau of Emergency Services, located at 112 Old Route 6.  The  Putnam County Communities That Care Coalition is hosting the free seminar.

Good was severely injured and her parents were killed on a Pennsylvania road in 2008, when an 18-year-old driver blew a red light while texting on his phone. A tractor-trailer swerved to avoid him and slammed head-on into the Goods’ car.

Since then, Good, who suffered a traumatic brain injury, has pushed for stricter laws on the use of cell phones behind the wheel and talked to audiences across the country about the dangers of distracted driving.

Registration is required for the Putnam event.  Contact Elaine Santos at putnamdfcgrantee@gmail.com or call 845.225.4646 ext. 13.

A recent study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control found that 45 percent of teens surveyed said they had texted or emailed while driving in the past month.

Jacy Good poses along Central Park Avenue in Hartsdale June 30, 2010. Joe Larese / The Journal News 

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It’s Friday afternoon and that means the Tappan Zee Bridge project teams tells us what it has planned next week.

The biggest job is starting construction of a 1,000-foot-long work platform that will support  a crane used to build the new bridge. Pile driving begins on Thruway land near Tarrytown, north of the existing bridge, and will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays.

The project will take several months to complete.

In the meantime, surveying and soil sampling work will continue at various spots in Rockland and Westchester near the project, including the access road on state property in Tarrytown. Soil conditions will also continue to be tested in the river in the footprint of the two new spans.

Arborists will also evaluate trees near the project, recording their types, sizes and health.

“This information will help with (Tappan Zee Constructor’s) project planning and conservation efforts,” the release states.

Traffic in Westchester won’t be affected next week but that won’t saebe the case in Rockland.

Drivers at times will be limited to one lane on River Road near the border of South Nyack and Grand View. Crews need the space for utility investigations and flaggers will be on hand to direct traffic. Signs will also offer warnings.

Some soil testing will take place in the Rockland-bound shoulder area of the Thruway during daytime hours, but the project team says it will not cause lane closures or affect traffic.

Photo credit: Work to test the riverbed north of the Tappan Zee Bridge from July 2012. (Seth Harrison/The Journal News)

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Rockland County will spend $4.8 million this year to repair its battered roads.

As part of its largest paving and resurfacing program in its history, the county highway department will work on some 20 miles of its most beat-up and potholed roads. It includes major roadwork projects that were delayed last fall due to Superstorm Sandy.

“If we had gotten to do our paving last year, it might not have been so bad,” Rockland County Highway Superintendent Charles “Skip” Vezzetti told  The Journal News, noting the past winter’s freeze-thaw cycle made the situation worse. “We’re finally getting the opportunity to catch up.”

There are three broad categories of work planned or already underway: overlays, microsurfacing and chip sealing.

With overlays, crews peel off two inches of asphalt and then lay down a new layer of hot asphalt. All of the work will be completed by May.

Paving has begun on Middletown Road in Nanuet, and milling is being done on South Little Tor in New City. The county says Airmont Road between Dunnigan Drive and Montebello Road will be done at night, with the schedule to be determined after consulting with the state Thruway Authority.

Here are the road set to receive resurfacing:

• Middletown Road (Route 59 to Smith)


• Little Tor Road (W. Clarkstown to Milich Lane)


• Eckerson Road (Route 45 to W. Clarkstown Road)


• New City – Congers Road (Rte 304 to Brewery)


• Townline Road (Ehrhardt to Sickletown)


• Sanatorium Road (Rte 45 to Summit Park Road)


• Sterling Mine Road (Arcadia to Rte 17)


• Pomona Road (Rte 306 to Rte 45)


• Airmont Road (Dunnigan to Montebello)


• Strawtown (Demerest to Germonds)


• West Clarkstown (New Clarkstown to Red Hill Rd)


• New Hempstead Road (Rte 45 to Summit Park)

• Old Nyack Turnpike (Pascack Road to end)


• Hammond Road (Suffern Lane to Willow Grove)


• Washington Street (Main Street to Dederer)


• S. Monsey Road (Saddle River to Christmas Hill)


• College Road (Rte 59 to Highview)


• Cherry Lane (Christmas Hill to Rte 59)


• Airmont Road (NJ line to Route 59)


• Washburns Lane (Central Hwy to Rte 9W)


• Tomkins Ave (Rte 9W to Beach Rd)


• Strawtown (Germonds to 235 Strawtown)


• Central Highway (S. Mtn Rd to Town border)


• Sickletown Road (Townline to W. Nyack Rd)

• Strawtown Road (235 Strawtown to Westerly)


• Gilbert Ave (Veterans Mem to Sickletown)


• Old Mountain Road (South Blvd to Rte 9W)


• Viola Road (Galbraith to Forshay)


• Wilder Road (Lime Kiln to Rte 202)


• Green Road (Sickletown to Western Hwy)


• River Road


• Greenbush Rd (Clausland Mtn to Rte 303)


• Greenbush Rd (Bradley Pkwy to Rte 303)


• Viola Road (Spook Rock to Galbraith)


• Spook Rock Road (Grandview to Spook Rock)


• Spook Rock Road (Highview to Grandview)


• Spook Rock Road (Lime Kiln to Grandview)


• Johnsontown Road


• Reservoir Road (Rte 210 to W. Main Street)


• West Main St (Wayne Ave to Rte 9W)

Photos: A work crew prepares a section of South Little Tor Road in New City on Wednesday in preparation for resurfacing.  ( Joe Larese/The Journal News )

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Tappan Zee Constructors had been considering RiverWalk Park in Tarrytown for a staging area, but it appears that legal complexities have forced the team to abandon the idea and look at private properties instead.

“Tappan Zee Constructors is still considering options for staging areas along the river and has not yet finalized all its leases with private property owners,” TZC spokeswoman Carla Julian said in an email on May 2. “However, we can confirm at this point TZC has no plans to pursue the use of public parkland for staging operations.”

Tarrytown officials told The Journal News last week that TZC had proposed using a half-mile acre of the RiverWalk  as a place to load workers onto boats and take them to barges on the river.  TZC had also proposed creating a temporary, parallel path while that section of the RiverWalk was being used.

Because the walk is public parkland, approval for such a plan would have required permission from Tarrytown, the county,  state lawmakers and Scenic Hudson, officials said.

Scenic Hudson holds an easement on the Riverwalk Park, which requires it be maintained for recreational and ecological purposes.  Scenic Hudson president Ned Sullivan told The Journal News that Tarrytown would have had to submit a proposal showing how the work will be consistent with the easement’s requirements.  Scenic Hudson then must sign off on the document for the construction plan to proceed.

When asked last week for comment on the RiverWalk proposal, TZC announced it was no longer pursuing the option.

(A view of the Tappan Zee Bridge from the Tarrytown RiverWalk. Journal News/LoHud.com file photo)

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If you’re already thinking about your summer road trip, here’s a bit of good news: you’ll likely pay lower gas prices than previous summers.

“Families taking trips this summer can expect to pay lower gas prices than recent years as long as there are not any refinery problems or significant international news events,” said AAA spokesman Avery Ash.

Prices have already been falling this spring, with average national gas price sitting at $3.55 per gallon for the month of April.

That’s the lowest average for the month since 2010, according to AAA.

The motorist advocacy group predicts that national gas price averages will drop between $3.20 to $3.40 per gallon by mid-summer.

Still, motorists in New York typically pay more than the national average.  On Tuesday, state drivers were paying an average of $3.72 a gallon for regular gas. Drivers in the New York City metro area were paying roughly $3.80.

(Journal News/LoHud.com file photo)

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Looks like the mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina is about to get a big promotion.

Anthony Foxx will be nominated by President Barack Obama to replace outgoing U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, officials told The Associated Press.

Foxx, first elected mayor in 2009, is credited with launching Charlotte’s Streetcar Project and getting a third runway added at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, according to the Associated Press report.

Foxx is Obama’s first black Cabinet nominee for the president’s second term.

(Associated Press file photo)

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The team will also take photos and reports of property conditions around the bridge before construction starts. State officials have said this is done in case a property owner files a claim for damage from the construction.

Meanwhile, testing will continue in the river.

“The crews are conducting preconstruction geotechnical surveys to determine soil conditions where future piles will be installed for the new span,” the Thruway Authority said in an email notice. “Noise levels from the equipment will be at a minimum. The river-based operations will run continuously 24 hours a day Monday through Friday and possibly Saturday.”

(Resident Tori Weisel stands near Van Wart Avenue in the neighborhood of Irving, one of the neighborhoods near the Tappan Zee that are set to get environmental monitoring devices. Journal News/LoHud.com file photo)

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New Jersey Transit on Thursday introduced its new mobile ticketing application, MyTix, as part of a pilot program. The app is available for free download on Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android operating systems.

Customers can use the app to purchase one-way tickets and monthly passes on their mobile devices for travel on the Pascack Valley Line, which has stations in Spring Valley, Nanuet and Pearl River in Rockland. Riders can use the train to get to Penn Station in Manhattan by transferring at Secaucus Junction, Hoboken, or the Meadowlands for concerts, sports and other special events.

“The mobile ticketing app will give Pascack Valley Line customers, and eventually all of our rail customers, the ability to treat their smart phones as both a ticket vending machine and rail ticket or pass all in one, providing for a seamless travel experience,” NJ Transit Executive Director James Weinstein said in a statement.

After installing the app, customers must create an account, which will save their profile information and history of ticket purchases.

Tickets must be activated before you board the train and displayed to train crews upon request. One-way tickets expire two hours after you activate them while monthly passes self-activate on the first day of the calendar month and stay that way for the rest of the month.

Customers transferring at Secaucus Junction need to scan the ticket barcode on the fare gate readers to pass through the gates.

NJ Transit said it’s piloting the program on the Pascack Valley Line because it has a smaller customer base and more consistent rail crew and equipment assignments. Many of its commuters also get off at Secaucus Junction allowing the mobile ticketing technology to be tested there.

The agency will test and evaluate the app, which was designed with input from customers and rail employees, for three months. After that, it will decide whether to expand it to include other rail lines and make any needed adjustments.

“Although the initial pilot is for our Pascack Valley and Meadowlands Rail Line customers, our ultimate goal is to put this technology into the hands of all of our rail customers,” NJ Transit Board Chairman James Simpson said in a statement.

The agency hopes to have the app serving its entire rail system by the end of the year.

For more information on MyTix, click here.

Metro-North Railroad is also seeking to develop an e-ticketing app for its riders.

Photo #1: The new HTC One smartphone, which belongs to the big camp of smartphones running Google Inc.’s Android software. (AP Photo/HTC)

Photo #2: A NJ Transit train arrives at the Nanuet train station in Dec. 2007. (Vincent DiSalvio/The Journal News)

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There were 150 motorcyclist deaths between January and September 2012, compared to 145 during the same time in 2011. New York is one of 34 states where motorcycle rider fatalities are on the rise.

Nationwide,  there were 3,922 motorcyclist death during the first nine months of 2012, a 4 percent increase from 2011.

Researchers predict that the total number of motorcyclist deaths in 2012 will top 5,000, making 2012 one of the deadliest years for motorcyclists in the last decade.

Mild weather, high gas prices and an improved economy likely contributed to the increase, researchers said.

(State police investigate the scene of a fatal motorcycle accident on Milltown Road near Green Acres Avenue in Southeast Aug. 26, 2012. Frank Becerra Jr / The Journal News)

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