The emphasis on the key goals the community expressed to obtain the federal funds from NYMTC could be more clearly stated.

  • Improve pedestrian safety and experience
  • Lincoln Tunnel access and egress: minimizing the negative impacts of high volume and backed-up vehicles for pedestrians and bicyclists
  • Transit , Bus and vans
  • Emergency vehicle
  • Improved air quality

The study objectives could be further more aligned with PlaNYC2030’s and Community’s goals

  • Pedestrian and bicycles Safety , EMS transit and buses, plazas
  • Include the study and evaluation of solutions already proposed by Community board in the recommended actions, including bike and bus lane etc
  • Improving Single occupancy vehicle access to any destination or facility is not an objective

Focus the analytical resources on current conditions and prioritize the largest impact factors and their costs.

  • tunnel current and future mode of operations (new technology, lanes management, bus staging, dedicated second bus lanes, bus garage, Holland tunnel truck policy, car parking on bus terminal, truck security inspections).
  • Parking/ travel of buses and minivans  
  • Truck travel EMS delays, Health, Transit delays Enforcement costs
  • Demographic( specially future) , car ownership , Parking supply and demand are of low relevance compared with the overwhelming role of the Lincoln tunnel in the local traffic patterns Roman'”

The recommendations need to focus on feasible solutions for pedestrian safety and mass transit protect pedestrians, bicycle transit and EMS from the traffic, NOT measures that improve access for vehicular traffic since no one can control volume from New Jersey.

  • Traffic calming and pedestrian safety desing measures should play a prominent role in the solution : neck downs and dedicated phases. Queues management , Separating cars from pedestrians, using unused capacity, giving pedestrians more space and time, giving transit and bicycle their own space, directing bus and trucks to less residential arterials
  • Because the Lincoln tunnel, a state boundary and an infrastructure at capacity- causes most of the traffic, and because Ninth Avenue is NOT a highway, What TSM techniques to enhance the capacity and flow of the system other that “route choice management”could be effective ?
  • Reducing demand for New Jersey automobile travel and for promoting public transportation bicycling and walking” seems to be too ambitious for the scope of this study.
  • Strategic enforcement is not a sustainable solution : there are no enforcement resources available. The network should be self healing