HGAR Supports Current Plans for New Tappan Zee Bridge

March 2, 2012 - PRLog -- The Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS,® (HGAR) a trade organization representing more than 9,000 real estate professionals in Westchester, Putnam, Rockland and Orange Counties, is lending its support to the current plans for construction a new Tappan Zee Bridge.

“The Tappan Zee Bridge knits our region together and we are all aware of the growing list of deficiencies of the present bridge,” said HGAR CEO Richard Haggerty.  “There is an urgency for action to replace the bridge before any hazardous conditions create an emergency that leaves us no options at all.”

The current bridge has been cited for insufficient capacity, less-than-modern structural and highway design standards, escalating maintenance costs, and inability to accept meaningful mass transit improvements, among other issues.

“We are mindful of one of the principal criticisms of this project --- that it does not include a defined mass transit component  -- and our organization fully agrees that the inclusion of significant mass transit via the bridge is vital to the region for traffic capacity and environmental reasons,”  said Haggerty.

“However, we don’t think that the mass transit component needs to be fully designed and ready for construction on day one of bridge construction. It is sufficient that the new bridge has the design features to accommodate the later addition of a mass transit system.”

HGAR believes that delaying bridge construction for mass transit to be fully designed would probably add several years more of analysis and environmental review. “Anyone who participated in the former Tappan Zee Bridge / I-287 Corridor project is aware of the extraordinary depth of planning it entailed, not just on what mode- rail or bus- is best, but also the configuration of 30 or so miles of dedicated right of way in the I-287 corridor,” added Haggerty.  “This includes stations and station parking, signalization, precise route alignments, connections with other systems, takings of some properties, repurposing of others, and so on.”

Construction of a new Tappan Zee Bridge has received the highest infrastructure priorities at both the federal and state levels.  “It does not make sense to risk all that by tacking on an untold number of years to plan and review the transit options.  Our preference as an organization is that the project stays on its current fast track and in transit-capable mode,” Haggerty said.

HGAR strongly supports mass transit, and is urging that planning for it begin now, so that a final configuration could be in place when the bridge construction is completed.
The Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS® (HGAR) is a not-for-profit trade association covering over 9,000 real estate professionals doing business in Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, and Orange counties.   HGAR is comprised of the former Westchester Putnam Association of REALTORS® (WPAR), Rockland County Board of REALTORS® (RCBR) and Orange County Association of REALTORS® (OCAR).

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The Hudson Gateway Association of REALTORS® (HGAR) is a not-for-profit trade association covering over 9,000 real estate professionals doing business in Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, and Orange counties.