Real solutions to ease Tappan Zee backups

It’s been a little more than a month since several thick metal plates were placed on the main span of the Tappan Zee Bridge. They've been the culprit behind huge morning commuting problems, with many cars crossing them gingerly, creating traffic back ups on the Thruway and near entrance points in the Nyacks. And even a solution to open up five Westchester-bound lanes by adjusting the bridge’s movable center barrier hardly makes the commute bearable. Now, the plates have appeared on the the Rockland bound side, making evening commutes downright hellish.

God forbid there be a fender-bender near Exit 11 or at the Westchester tolls. And with the completion of bridge repairs many months away, commuters need relief right now.

Personally, I’ve been late for work about a dozen times. My co-workers who live in the city or in Westchester are getting slightly miffed at my unanticipated tardiness. I make up for this by working an hour or so later than I typically would. Even then, I’m not immune to traffic jams, and then I miss eating dinner with my family and sometimes I barely get to see my children off to bed.

Just think of all the tens of thousands of hours wasted worker productivity sitting on the bridge each day. Think of the wasted fuel as the vehicles stuck in traffic are getting zero miles per gallon when their engines are idling they’re not moving. Think of the appointments missed and think of the lost revenue to businesses in nearby villages and hamlets when potential visitors aren’t willing to cross the bridge and enjoy an afternoon of shopping or an evening dining out.

It was during one of those evening traffic jams that I came to this conclusion: Why doesn’t the Thruway Authority appeal to commuters' sense of thrift to help lessen the traffic burden on the bridge. And I came up with several solutions that I think are feasible, can be implemented within days, and might prove popular with weary travelers:

Take the tolls off the Bear Mountain Bridge. There are a lot of commuters, especially those in Orange County, Haverstraw, Stony Point and parts of Clarkstown that have the viable option of using the Bear Mountain Bridge. While taking this alternative route might take them some miles out of their way, dropping the tolls on the Bridge might help loosen the grip on its sister bridge to the south.

Free rides for car poolers. Convert one or two of the cash lanes to a carpooling lane and make that lane toll free. A criticism of this plan would be that some commuters would not understand that this was a car-pooling lane. This isn’t a problem. Toll collectors can charge those vehicles a toll and then wave by vehicles with two or more passengers. I’m certain that many commuters will bend to their sense of thrift and double up. Other pluses for this idea is that it lessens the traffic load for both the morning and evening commutes, saves fuel, and lessens the pollution problem in Rockland County.

Educate commuters about traffic patterns. The Thruway Authority must reach out to commuters and tell them how to avoid traffic delays. A lot of workplaces have flexible work schedules and the Thruway Authority has data to educate employees of these companies on how to avoid traffic delays by altering their work schedule. All this would take is for the Authority to create an informational Web site and to reach out to businesses in Westchester, The Bronx, Fairfield Counties and Long Island, where many commuters work.

Promote the Red and Tan/Rockland Coaches bus lines. Many commuters take the Metro North Hudson and Harlem lines to Grand Central. When I worked in Manhattan, my total commute time—under the best of conditions—was 1 hour, 20 minutes. Delayed and missed Tappan Zee Bus connections could increase this commute time an extra hour or more. In talking with friends and acquaintances about their commutes recently, 2-hour commutes into the city are again commonplace as they were six years ago before the Thruway interchanges were rebuilt. In addition, there are hundreds of commuters that drive to and park at the Tarrytown and White Plains train stations, these are cars we can take off the road. The Red and Tan lines travel to the Port Authority Bus Terminal and commute times are typically a little longer (about 10-20 more minutes) by bus, but with traffic as bad as it is on the TZ, that commute may be faster for many. Again, a little advertising and perhaps a financial incentive in the form of a fare subsidy would be enough to sway commuters to take the bus.

The New York Thruway Authority has acted shamefully by not effectively addressing inevitable commuting problems, and those of us who commute across the Hudson River have paid the price monetarily, professionally, and personally. It’s time that the Authority tried some real solutions to the commuting crisis; opening up an extra lane on the TZ just wasn’t enough. These fixes can be implemented with what is the equivalent of pocket change in to a agency with a $1 billion annual budget.