INITIATIVES / TRANSPORTATION

Addressing Staten Island’s transportation needs is among BP Oddo’s top priorities.

At his urging, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority unveiled a redesign of the Staten Island express bus network, which resulted in 21 new routes. The network offers riders more direct routes, less frequent stopping and expanded off-peak and weekend service into Manhattan. 
 
Since launching his “Pave Baby Pave” campaign in 2014, more than 630 lane miles have been paved. In 2019, more than 205 lanes miles are expected to be paved.
 
In other transportation news, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that Staten Island will be included in the NYC Ferry service, which will run from St. George to Battery City/Vesey Street to Midtown West at Pier 79/West 39th Street. The Staten Island Ferry fleet is also in line for two new boats.
 
Additionally, BP Oddo advocated to bring a bike share pilot program to Staten Island in 2018. The pilot program currently uses JUMP bikes and Lime bikes, which can easily be unlocked by an app on your smartphone. Though limited to the North Shore, the city is exploring bringing the bike share program to all of Staten Island.

See below for more on the transportation initiatives.

Major Express Bus Changes

​In August 2018, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority unveiled a redesign of the Staten Island express bus network, which resulted in 21 new routes. The network offers riders more direct routes, less frequent stopping and expanded off-peak and weekend service into Manhattan.

The planning process for the redesign was three years in the making and came about due in large part to the efforts of BP Oddo. After receiving near daily complaints from commuters, he arranged for a sit-down with local elected officials, union leaders and MTA representatives at Borough Hall.

​After that meeting, the MTA decided to evaluate the entire network. The result was the Staten Island Comprehensive Bus Study.

"They came back to us a few months later and said, 'We hear you. We know there are issues with the system. We think the best approach is to look at this comprehensively. So what we're proposing is to give us time to do an A-Z review of the network. Let us come back to you with our suggestions,'" BP Oddo told the Advance in an interview.

The MTA has continued tinkering with the system since its debut. In November 2018, a round of changes was made, which included restoring some stops that were eliminated during the redesign, adding routes and making adjustments to existing routes. There were more adjustments made in April 2019

BP Oddo has conference calls with the MTA twice a week to moderate the changes and address customer feedback.

​He continues to push the agencies and entities with the decision-making authority to act to improve HOV lane enforcement, improve the flow of at the approaches to the Hugh Carey Tunnel and ensure the recently announced enforcement of bus lane regulations on Staten Island and Manhattan actually happen. 

Ferry Service: Get On The Boat
The free Staten Island Ferry runs between St. George and Whitehall (downtown Manhattan) every 30 minutes around the clock. Securing the every 30-minute run time back in 2014 was a big victory on the transportation front.

“The days of hour-long waits for a Staten Island Ferry are now over,” BP Oddo said at the time. “I fought to pass this  legislation to accomplish increased service two years ago and the law (Local Law 88) is now fully in effect.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio said this: “Every Staten Islander has had that experience of missing the ferry and waiting an hour for the next one to pull in. Today, that’s a thing of the past.”

Here's some more good news on the Staten Island Ferry front: Two new boats are currently under construction.

The Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis is expected to be put in service in early 2020. Staff Sgt. Ollis lost his life at age 24 protecting a Polish soldier from an explosion in 2013 in Afghanistan.

Around seven months later, The Sandy Ground, named for the freed slaves who settled in Rossville in 1828, is expected to join the fleet.

​The Staten Island Ferry provides service to more than 22 million people a year – or 70,000 passengers a day, not including weekends.

     • Download our informational board on Ferry Service

Fast Ferry

​In much-heralded and long-awaited moment, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that Staten Island will be included in the NYC Ferry service. The new fast ferry route will run from St. George to Battery City/Vesey Street to Midtown West at Pier 79/West 39th Street. The route will run for about 35 minutes and will cost $2.75 per ride.
 
“I think there’s going to be a lot of Staten Islanders who will use it, the price is certainly right and the ability to get into Downtown and to Midtown on the West Side in that time period, I think that’s going to be extremely attractive,” BP Oddo said.
 
BP Oddo continues to work with the MTA on an express rail service that will run from the deep South Shore directly to St. George.

Fast ferry options from the South Shore, East Shore and West Shore continue to be explored, though there are numerous hurdles. Here are a few:

• On the East Shore, the water near the shoreline is too shallow. The amount of capital dollars necessary to dredge the shoreline would be enormous and it would take years to study the environmental impact. Building a dock from the shoreline to deeper water would present similar problems.
• In order to make such a ferry economically feasible, it would need a significant number of daily riders – certainly more than a handful. Where would those riders park? Where is the land that would allow them to park within walking distance of the dock, and who owns it?
• A fast ferry dock on the West Shore would necessitate the use of the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull. And while the Coast Guard said they could not prevent a ferry from using these bodies of water, they gave us a stern warning about the large quantity – and even larger size – of the maritime traffic utilizing them. So while a fast ferry might be able to safely navigate the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, on any given day it might lose time – a great deal of time – avoiding or allowing these ships to pass. It is simply not practical.

Citi Bike/Dockless Bike Share Pilot Program

As of 2018, Staten Island and the Bronx are currently the only two boroughs without Citi Bike.

BP Oddo has met with Citi Bike and other bike share companies and at his urging and the urging of transportation alternatives advocates, the Department of Transportation instituted a bike share pilot program in July 2018. The pilot program currently uses JUMP bikes and Lime bikes, which can easily be unlocked by an app on your smartphone.

Currently, the pilot is limited to the North Shore,  including the Bay Street corridor and the St. George Ferry Terminal and continuing westward to the western edge of Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden in Livingston to Fort Wadsworth, and down the eastern coastline to Midland Beach.

Recently, the city Department of Transportation released a Request for Expressions of Interest that could bring the bike share program to all of Staten Island by the summer.

Bike users are asked to park the bikes responsibly, and when finished, anchor where appropriate. The bikes are routinely charged (most are pedal assisted) and redistributed throughout the approved area. A map is available on their apps. 

On Staten Island, we see people using the bikes as a "last mile alternative" to finish their commutes home. We also see other using them for leisure and visitors using them to access points along the North Shore. We are hopeful that the program will continue to be successful and grow in the near future. 

(Photo courtesy of the Staten Island Advance/SILive)