Public Weighs In On New Tappan Zee Bridge
WEST NYACK, NY (CBSNewYork) - On Tuesday night, the public was invited to the Palisades Center mall to sound off on the plans for a new Tappan Zee Bridge to connect Rockland to Westchester.
WCBS 880's Peter Haskell On The Story
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Transit advocates say what's wrong with the picture is that the state wants to spend $5 billion on a new bridge without a mass transit component.
"We want to build a bridge that serves the region and the future, and not building public transit won't do that," said Kate Slevin of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.
She says the state says it'll cost another $5 billion for bus rapid transit. She says that's ridiculous.
"There's a lot of ways to improve public transportation that don't cost billions and billions of dollars," she told WCBS 880 reporter Peter Haskell.
Slevin says even with the new bridge congestion is only going to get worse.
"Why spend 5-something which you know is going to be $10 billion or $15 billion?" said Mayor Larry Lynn of Grand View-on-Hudson. "By the rule of government, it'll be triple."
But Al Samuels, president and CEO of the Rockland Business Association, says wait a second, we need a new bridge.
"I think it's a great plan. You know why? It gives us a safe crossing in a reasonable period of time," he said.
Some other note it will create thousands of jobs.
Where do you stand on the plan? Sound off in the comments section below!
