Metro Magazine, June 2017

Act initiatives such as streamlining processes permitting issues and accelerated construction The legislation places more emphasis on alternative delivery design build P3 tolling safety and performance measures These are all steps in the right direction to put funding and building of transportation projects at the forefront Over five years FAST will also distribute 45 billion through a new freight specific competitive grant program for nationally significant projects and 63 billion through a freight formula program The measure also includes 5 billion for highway safety programs In New York the Cross Harbor rail freight tunnel in New York Harbor received a boost with passage of the FAST given the freight specific grant program STV in a joint venture is leading this project having recently completed a Tier 1 EIS Were likely to continue seeing additional planning and engineering efforts along the Northeast Corridor and other high performance rail corridors including the Southeast Corridor and even in Southern California to accommodate additional demand for rail passenger services The FAST Act at least provides some level of federal certainty until 2020 As no new revenue sources have been identified when FAST expires we will once again be confronting transportation infrastructure funding shortfalls WHEN AGENCIES ARE DEVELOPING PROJECTS HOW IMPORTANT HAS THE CUSTOMERS FEEDBACK BECOME Public agencies always have their customers in mind when it comes to developing their capital program multi year needs assessments and long range plans The customers feedback plays a significant role in customer facing projects such as new alignments or levels of service for both rail and bus service new vehicles and stations Transit agencies routinely gather comments from the public at regular board meetings where individuals can comment and through special community committees that meet and report regularly with the agency Extensions of passenger rail lines and new rail lines require a thorough planning and environmental review process that requires open public meetings workshops and eventually public hearings that obtain comments that must be addressed through to move the project forward to design and construction The MTA here in New York recently held a series of focus groups to solicit input on what the next subway car could look like for example the open gangway style car used in the London Underground In the case of stations another example in New York is the New York City Transits Enhanced Station Initiative The Governor had a big influence on this program seeking to do an entire gut rehab on the subway stations particularly those in the outer boroughs And a lot of those incorporated project features the Help Point wayfinding stations the free Wi Fi charging stations the countdown clocks informing you when the next train will arrive are a result of commuter feedback 21 JUNE 2017 mETRO mAGAZINE 973 250 4176 protrantechnology com protrantechnology com contact us Contact us to see what many other agencies are already doing to keep track workers and rst responders safe Location Awareness System PersonalAlert Device Wayside Unit With a system as simple as two SECURE Track Workers Work Gangs First Responders