Kate Hinds

The "energy highway" proposed by New York Governor Cuomo at this year's State of the State address now has a blueprint.

The plan, which was released at a cabinet meeting in Albany, details plans to increase energy transmission in the state.

Read the press release below. The full blueprint can be found here.

GOVERNOR CUOMO RECEIVES PLAN TO MODERNIZE THE STATE'S ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE AND SPUR BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT
Plan for Up to 3,200 MW in Additional Electric Generation and Transmission Will Spur $5.7 Billion Investment, Helping Ensure Clean, Reliable, Affordable Power for New York's Future

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today received the Energy Highway Task Force's Blueprint, a comprehensive plan that will add up to 3,200 megawatts (MW) of additional electric generation and transmission capacity and clean power generation through up to $5.7 billion in private investments. The 3,200 MW outlined in this blueprint would provide enough energy to power approximately 3.2 million homes.

The Energy Highway initiative, introduced in the 2012 State of the State address, is a centerpiece of the Governor's Power NY agenda, which was put in place to ensure that New York's energy grid is the most advanced in the nation and promotes increased business investment in the state.

"As we work to grow New York's economy, we need reliable, affordable, and clean power to leverage significant private sector investments, to allow businesses to grow, and to create jobs," Governor Cuomo said. "The energy highway will ensure that businesses and residential consumers across New York State have access to the affordable power they need to plan for not just today, but also for the future. An economy built to last requires a power infrastructure that gives businesses the confidence and security they need to hire new workers and plan for years to come, and this Blueprint continues to position New York State as a national leader in clean energy production and investment."

The Blueprint includes specific actions designed to add up to 3,200 MW in new generation and transmission, including plans to:

· Invest $1 billion for 1000 MW of new electric transmission capacity
· Initiate $250 million in new renewable energy projects, leveraging $425 million in private investment and creating 270 MW of new power

· Modernize and repower existing inefficient, high emission plants to create 750 MW of power, enabled by approximately $1.5 billion investment.

· Generate 1,200 MW of additional capacity through approximately $1 billion investment to help meet reliability needs to address retiring power plants across the state.
· Accelerate $1.3 billion of investment in existing transmission and distribution projects to enhance reliability, improve safety, reduce cost to customers and reduce emissions.
· Invest $250 million to develop Smart Grid technologies and create the most advanced energy management control center in the country.
· Initiate field studies of Atlantic Ocean offshore wind development potential

The interagency Energy Highway Task Force will begin swift implementation of the proposed actions. These steps will significantly reduce the time required for development of energy infrastructure and includes a first-of-its-kind solicitation of new transmission projects by the Department of Public Service.

The Blueprint reaches every corner of the state with both locally focused and statewide actions to provide system reliability and economic development benefits. In Northern New York, strategic investments in transmission system upgrades will facilitate access for renewable energy projects to electricity markets. Western New York will undergo an immediate review of the viability of repowering options for power plants that have announced retirement plans and could benefit from a new Community Support Plan in the event plants are closed. Repowering, reducing transmission congestion, and offshore wind initiatives in the downstate region will help to green the power plant fleet supplying the highest energy demand area of the State. Upgrades throughout the state will support regional job growth and economic development.

The Energy Highway Task Force created the Blueprint after reviewing 130 responses provided by 85 entities including investor-owned utilities, private developers and investors in response to its Request for Information (RFI), issued in April. Public comments submitted on the RFI responses were also considered in the development of the plan as were publicly available reports and analyses. In April, along with the issuance of the RFI, the Task Force convened two conferences—an Energy Highway Summit at which power industry leaders explored the State's energy issues and challenges, and a Conference of RFI Respondents and Interested Parties.

Governor Cuomo provided his vision for the Energy Highway in his 2012 State of the State address. He named Gil C. Quiniones, president and chief executive officer of the New York Power Authority, and Joseph Martens, commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as co-chairman of the Task Force. Joining them on the Task Force are Kenneth Adams, president, chief executive officer and commissioner of Empire State Development; Garry A. Brown, chairman of the New York State Public Service Commission; and Francis J. Murray, Jr., president and chief executive officer of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

To view the Energy Highway Blueprint, visit www.NYEnergyHighway.com.

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(photo by Larry Darling via flickr)

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This car will one day ride the rails in Chicago. (Photo by Pat Bradley/WAMC)

(With reporting from Pat Bradley, WAMC) Earlier this week, New York MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota and NYC Transit President Tom Prendergast made a 300 mile pilgrimage north to a place of significance to city transit riders: the Bombardier manufacturing plant in Plattsburgh, New York.

"My understanding is two-thirds of all the equipment that's been made here has actually shown up at either the New York City Transit Authority, or the Long Island Rail Road, or Metro-North," said Lhota.

(Pat Bradley/WAMC)

And that trend will continue: in June, the MTA signed a $600 million contract with Bombardier to build 300 new subway cars. Those cars are in the design phase and will be delivered to NYC in 2015.

Bombardier also makes rail cars for systems across the country, including BART, CTA, and NJ Transit.

(Pat Bradley/WAMC)

Lhota told reporters that while he toured the facility, he paid attention to the little details. "When I was on the train that's being built for NJ  Transit," he said, "I was noticing they put little coat racks behind each one of the chairs, where someone could put a coat or a sweater, or put their purse -- that's a great little feature."

A future NJ Transit rail car (Pat Bradley/WAMC)

He also took the opportunity to point out that what's good for downstate transit is good for upstate.

"Whenever I go to Albany, and I want to talk about the MTA -- for those folks who are not from the New York metropolitan area, they're going to say 'well, why should we care about the MTA?'" Lhota recounted. "Most of what we spend on our capital program -- the billions of dollars that we spend on new cars, on rails -- most, not all of it, but a huge majority of it, is made in New York State....we need the product, we help people up here get the jobs."

A NJ Transit rail car (Pat Bradley/WAMC)

Listen to WAMC reporter Pat Bradley's story about the visit.

(images from MTA's Arts for Transit and Urban Design's Facebook page)

Pull up a rocking chair, sit on the front porch, and watch the world go by...while waiting for the Q train to arrive at Brooklyn's Avenue H station.

(courtesy of MTA)

The latest installation from the New York MTA's Arts for Transit and Urban Design takes place at the intersection of East 16th Street and Avenue H, at what the Landmarks Preservation Commission calls "the the city’s only shingled wooden cottage turned transit station house." It was built in either 1905 or 1906.

Come on by -- the MTA says the installation is permanent and the public is welcome to sit in the chairs. No word yet on whether they're serving up iced tea.

Exterior of the Avenue H station house (photo courtesy of MTA)

According to MTA's Arts for Transit Facebook page: "The artwork, along the north and south facades of the Station House, consists of casual groupings of cast bronze rocking chairs, anchored in place...Each chair, though similar in style to one another, is subtly different with a variety of weaves, colors and patterns. The colors of the rocking chairs recall and harmonize with the decorative hues of the surrounding Queen Anne and Colonial houses and recall the graciousness of front-porch society from days gone by."

For more information on the project, and to see pictures of artist Ed Kopel creating the artwork, go here.

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Traffic jam at Newark Airport (photo by Taran Rampersad via flickr)

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A group has accused the Chicago Transit Authority of "fraudulently over-reporting" the number of miles CTA buses travel in order to increase its federal funding. (Chicago Tribune)

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DC's Metro’s effort to expand cellphone service throughout its system will take a back seat to safety improvements. (Washington Post)

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Wednesday was "Bike to City Hall Day" in Dallas. (Dallas Morning News)

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And: Munich's subway is tasty eye candy, too. (Good)

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NY City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Comptroller John Liu

New York will be accelerating more than $1 billion worth of work on infrastructure projects already in the city's capital plan.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg cautioned that these are not big ticket items. "The bulk of them are completely unglamorous," he said, adding that most of them can be completed within a 20-month time frame. The city is accelerating the work to take advantage of low interest rates.

A description of the authorized projects includes road and bridge repairs, waterfront infrastructure development, and improvements to city buildings and libraries. The mayor said an additional 300 miles of city roadways will be resurfaced, and it will also speed up the removal of PCBs from lighting fixtures in schools.

These are projects that are "ready to go, need to happen, and will be finished in the fixed timetable," the mayor said. He estimated that the work would create 8,000 jobs, mostly in the construction industry.

Read more about the project here, or watch a video of the announcement.

Bonus: hear the mayor announce the initiative in Spanish.

US President Barack Obama and Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney debate on October 16, 2012 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. (STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

Although the second question in Tuesday night's presidential debate was about gas prices, those hoping for conversation about transportation policy  -- or even the word "transportation -- were disappointed.

And while President Barack Obama once spoke frequently about the need to renew the country's infrastructure, that word also wasn't uttered by either candidate.

But here's what was talked about: a transcript of the conversation shows the word “gas” 30 times.

In response to a question about how much the U.S. can control gas prices, President Obama said: "The most important thing we can do is to make sure we control our own energy. So here's what I've done since I've been president. We have increased oil production to the highest levels in 16 years. Natural gas production is the highest it's been in decades." A few moments later, he said that during his administration, "we doubled fuel efficiency standards on cars. That means that in the middle of the next decade, any car you buy, you're going to end up going twice as far on a gallon of gas."

Governor Mitt Romney disputed the president's numbers. "Oil production is down 14 percent this year on federal land, and gas production is down 9 percent," he said, adding that "I'll get America and North America energy-independent. I'll do it by more drilling, more permits and licenses. We're going to bring that pipeline in from Canada." This led to a spirited exchange about domestic oil production.

Later in the debate, the candidates sparred over the auto industry bailout, but during the debate the words “transportation,” “infrastructure” and “transit” weren’t mentioned once.

President Obama did use a “bus driver” as a salary example during a tax policy question; he also said he’d take the money the country has been spending on war and “rebuild America — roads, bridges, schools.”

No matter what their commitment to transit, one thing is certain: one of these men will be gracing a D.C. fare card in January.

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Bullet trains in China (photo by kwramm via flickr)

During last night's presidential debate, the word "gas" was mentioned 30 times and the candidates sparred over the auto industry bailout, but the words "transportation," "infrastructure" and "transit" weren't mentioned once. President Obama did use a "bus driver" as a salary example during a tax policy question; he also said he'd take the money the country has been spending on war and "rebuild America — roads, bridges, schools." (Debate transcript via WNYC)

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Construction is set to begin next spring on the latest segment of the Grand Parkway, a multi-year project to build a 170-mile loop around the Greater Houston area. (KUHF)

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All aboard: bike trains pick up steam in New York City. (DNA Info)

"Peak load pricing" is coming to a new toll lane in Austin. (Freakonomics)

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FedEx Express will break ground today on a huge new solar array at its facilities by Newark Liberty International Airport. (Star-Ledger)

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(photo by bkabak via flickr)

New York's MTA says ridership on the Long Island Rail Road was four times higher than normal during Thursday's Barbra Streisand concert.

On a routine day, 990 passengers take LIRR trains westbound to Brooklyn's Atlantic Terminal station, which is across the street from the Barclays Center. On October 11th, that number increased to 4,035.

LIRR ridership also bumped up -- although not as dramatically -- during the September 28 Jay-Z concert, which saw 2,169 passengers.

The MTA increases LIRR service during events at the Barclays Center.

Subway ridership was up for both performers, as shown in the below chart.

(Photo by Caitlyn Kim)

In a bitter blog post, the head of a taxi-hail smart phone app said his company was pulling the app out of New York City yellow cabs -- one month after launching.

Travis Kalanick, the CEO of Uber, said bureaucracy had prevented his app from gaining a foothold in the city's taxi fleet.

"We did the best we could to get more yellows on the road but New York’s TLC (Taxi and Limousine Commission) put up obstacles and roadblocks in order to squash the effort around e-hail," Kalanick writes.

Uber allows ride-seeking passengers to hail available cabbies with their smartphones. But the app got a chilly reception when it entered the New York market in September. Only 160 cabbies participated in the UberTAXI pilot -- a fraction of the city's 13,000 yellow cab fleet.

The TLC said it was restricting the use of electronic hail apps due to "current contractual agreements between the TLC and payment processors." A passenger using the smartphone app pays its fare to Uber. But the TLC has existing -- and exclusive -- contracts with two companies (Verifone and CMC) for payment service. The agency says until those contracts expire next year, it can't allow any other company to process fares.

And another obstacle: the TLC also reminded cabbies last month that New York law forbids the use of electronic devices while driving.

While some cities (most notably Boston and San Francisco) are Uber-friendly, the app has met with resistance in other places. The company has been battling the Washington D.C. city council over regulations, and it's being sued in Chicago over its practice of automatically charging a 20 percent gratuity.

"We’ll bite our tongues and keep our frustration here to ourselves," Kalanick writes, not entirely succeeding. "In the meantime you can try UberTAXI in more innovation-friendly cities."

But the taxi app could one day return to New York. TLC commissioner David Yassky said the agency "is moving toward rule changes that will open the market to app developers and other innovators. Those changes cannot legally take place until our existing exclusive contracts expire in February. We are committed to making it as easy as possible to get a safe, legal ride in a New York City taxi, and are excited to see how emerging technology can improve that process."

That rule change could be introduced at a TLC meeting next month.

Uber's car service hail apps -- UberX and Uber Black -- continue to operate in New York.

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Savannah street (photo by Pat Dye via flickr)

NY MTA head Joe Lhota on the coming fare increase: keep the MetroCard bonus at least partially intact. (New York Times)

Detroit is the only major metropolitan city in the country that doesn't have a regional transportation authority, and U.S. DOT head Ray LaHood says it's time to fix that. "We're prepared to put on the table millions of dollars if this community can get its act together," he said. (MLive)

Southwest Airlines has hired former FAA administrator Randy Babbitt as senior vice president of labor relations. (Travel Weekly)

How Savannah created a thriving downtown: college growth, bike lanes, and an emphasis on the arts. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The governor of Ohio says privatizing the Ohio Turnpike could bring the state $1 billion. (Marketplace)

ARC Tunnel alert: NJ Transit doesn’t have much to show for it, but the agency is still paying out millions of dollars in closing costs for the aborted plan to dig a commuter rail tunnel to Manhattan. (Star-Ledger)

Any deal to bring bike share to Baltimore is at least a year away. (Baltimore Magazine)

BART set a ridership record this month. (RT&S)

NJ Transit ended free rides for non-employees, leading one passenger advocate to comment: “If you expect a demoralized work force to be as productive as a happy work force, you are very much mistaken.” (The Record)

A compromise has been brokered in the battle of the Astoria (NYC) bike corral. (New York Daily News)

Where is real-time arrival and departure information on New York's Metro-North commuter rail? (Rant & Rail)

Toyota will feature the space shuttle Endeavour in an upcoming commercial (Los Angeles Times)

The trend towards gruesome public health ad campaigns continues in Boston with a graphic ad on the perils of riding without a bike helmet. (Boston Biker)

Competition: visualize half a million Hubway rides and win a membership to Boston's bike share program.

Safe rides for San Francisco's LGBT community: listen to "The Making of the Homobile: a Story of Civil Rights, Transportation, and Glitter." (KQED)

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(WMATA)

DC's transit agency is circulating proposed designs for a commemorative fare card that will be sold for the presidential inauguration.

(WMATA)

According to a WMATA spokeswoman, the agency will print 100,000 of these $15 cards, which would come pre-loaded with a one-day rail pass. (Functional and collectible!)

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(image from the Stickers on the Central Line Facebook page)

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Officials are pushing for a town center at the new Walter Reed Army Medical Center site. (Washington Post)

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State government records show that only about a third of New Yorkers required to use special ignition locks after drunken driving convictions ever get the devices installed. (Times Union)

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NJ Transit's board will vote to settle the last claim for the cancelled ARC tunnel project. (Asbury Park Press)

Suicides are increasing on Delhi's metro. (AP via Washington Post)

And: attorneys are arguing that Delhi's bus rapid transit corridor should be removed because "private car owners are suffering because of the preferential treatment given to public transport." (BBC)

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Top stories on TN:
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(photo by NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The space shuttle Endeavour is moving slowly -- oh so slowly -- through Los Angeles streets. (Los Angeles Times)

The auto bailout prompted some spirited exchanges in last night's vice presidential debate... (Detroit Free Press)

...putting Republican nominee Paul Ryan on the defensive: “He talks about Detroit. Mitt Romney's a car guy. They keep misquoting him, but let me tell you about the Mitt Romney I know." (The Hill)

Transit planners designing Maryland's future Purple Line say they have found a way to link a popular recreational trail with a tunnel beneath Wisconsin Avenue, overcoming a design hurdle for a light-rail station in downtown Bethesda. (Washington Post)

NJ Transit wants to add clear plastic safety shields to insulate bus drivers from passengers. (The Record)

BART has quietly reopened the bidding to develop valuable real estate near the Millbrae BART station, leading to calls for a public hearing on negotiations that have been shrouded in secrecy and marred by accusations of favoritism. (Bay Citizen)

A New York City councilman wants motorcycle parking to be free. (New York Daily News)

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(photo by tsfisher via flickr)

The latest Freakonomics Radio podcast takes on something the called "The Cobra Effect." (Visit their web page for a full explanation; the short version involves a disastrous attempt by the Indian government to get rid of cobras.)

A finance professor who was visiting Bogotá, Colombia, noticed that his friends never picked him up in the same car two days in a row. Why? Vehicle use is restricted based on the last digit of the license plate. And the professor's friends had found a legal way to circumvent that rule: purchase another car. So a plan intended to decrease driving may actually have increased car ownership.

Listen to the story below. Or read the transcript here.

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Interior of DC Metro's newest railcar (image courtesy of WMATA)

A fight pitting Chicago against the suburbs was resolved when the Regional Transportation Authority agreed to divvy up $185 million in transit funds. (Chicago Tribune)

The design for DC's new Metro cars will be the biggest change to the trains since the system opened. "Gone are the carpeted floors. Gone are the original orange and brown seats and the updated blue and maroon ones. Gone is the classic brown stripe running down the car’s exterior." (Washington Post)

The most popular car color in the U.S. is white, followed by black, then silver or gray. (CNN)

A day before federal transportation officials are expected to give $942.2 million to San Francisco's controversial Central Subway, opponents of the project filed suit to stop construction of a station with a Union Square entrance. (San Francisco Chronicle)

If taller buildings are built in a rezoned Midtown Manhattan, developers could pay for neighborhood transit improvements. (DNA Info)

One Kansas town wants to build a "Museum of Suburbia" -- but some locals aren't convinced. "I just don't think it's a big turn-on to see something you can see every day," said one. "It's not like you're visiting ancient Rome." (Wall Street Journal)

How to move a space shuttle through Los Angeles: weld metal plates on streets to protect underground infrastructure, remove 200 traffic signals, and kill the power to the overhead lines. (Los Angeles Times; video)

A school bus stop in a New Hampshire town had to be temporarily relocated when a 300-pound black bear took up residence in a tree above the stop. (WMUR)

Tampa eyes bike share. (TBO)

'Baby on Board' stickers actually cause one in 20 car accidents in the U.K., because they partially obscure the rear window. (Telegraph)

Yes, that was Rick Springfield you saw performing on a NYC subway platform. (Gothamist)

(photo by Kate Hinds)

The subway car now known as the "nostalgia special" was first rolled out in 1917. New York's MTA brings it back for special events -- like the Yankees' first home game in its best in five series against the Baltimore Orioles to determine the American League Divisional champs, being held Wednesday night in the Bronx.

The four-car subway pulled into the 42nd Street Grand Central Terminal on the uptown #6 track. It went express to 161st Street/Yankees Stadium. 

The interior has straps for passengers to hold on -- the origin of the term "straphangers."

In 1917, the NYC subway fare was a nickel. Today, a $2.25 MetroCard buys passengers access to over 600 miles of subway track.

The interior still has the original ads.

Fans waiting to board (photo by Kate Hinds)

Top stories on TN:
Amtrak: We Broke Another Ridership Record, 49% Growth Since 2000 (link)
NJ Gov Christie: Workers Shouldn’t Ride Free on NJ Transit (link)
Infographic: How Far Can You Travel on a Single Subway Fare? (link)

Moscow sign (photo by Kevin Wells via flickr)

Toyota is recalling millions of vehicles over a faulty power window switch. (New York Times)

Meanwhile, that could be good news for Detroit automakers. (Wall Street Journal)

Welcome to bicycle commuting in Moscow: aggressive drivers, cars parking on sidewalks, and no bike parking. (AP)

Massachusetts wants to triple the share of non-car travel by 2030. (Boston Globe)

For several months in 2010, luggage got onto planes in Hawaii without being screened by airport security. (USA Today)

And: screeners at Newark Liberty International Airport are properly executing standard pat-downs of passengers only 16.7 percent of the time. (Star-Ledger)

The chief of San Antonio's transit system will be the new head of MARTA. (MySanAntonio)

After bicycling on one of Guadalajara's streets during a routinely car-free Sunday, one Toronto city council member wants to bring the ciclovia movement to her city. “I’ve never experienced anything so transformative in my urban life," said Kristyn Wong-Tam.  (Globe and Mail)

The federal government is warning millions of owners of cars repaired after collisions that they could have counterfeit air bags that may not inflate properly in an accident. (Detroit News)

Live in LA? Here's where to spot the space shuttle Endeavour as it makes its way through the streets tomorrow. Warning: it won't be easy. (KPCC)

Taxi hail app Uber has competition in DC. (Washington Examiner)

Going to the Yankees game tonight? Take the MTA's nostalgia train -- a 1917 subway car -- which departs Grand Central Terminal at 6:30. (MTA via Twitter)

Plan B to get six U.S. diplomats out the Canadian embassy and to the Turkish border during the 1979 hostage crisis: bikes. It was discarded, though, in favor of a fake movie. (New Yorker)

No booze, no outlets, and too many in-flight announcements: a business traveler's lament. (New York Times)

VIDEO: U.K. bicyclist Martyn Ashton puts a very expensive bike through some very demanding maneuvers. (Ed. note: Fear of heights? Avert your eyes at the 2m mark. Recover during the bucolic scene at 3:06. Prepare for a completely unnerving move at 3:15. Re-trigger agoraphobia at 3:28 and 4:19. End with gratuitous pit crew shot.) (YouTube)

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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (Governor's Office/Tim Larsen)

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was asked Tuesday about his support of a plan to eliminate the free ride benefit for NJ Transit employees. Here's his response.

"All these different kinds of perks that are given to employees just aren't justifiable to the general public. You know we had to raise fares on NJ Transit. We had to raise fares because their fare box had been ignored by the previous administration for their entire time here. YOu know? And artificially used federal stimulus money to keep fares stable. When we came in, NJ Transit was in really bad shape.  So what did we do? We made the hard choice, we bit the bullet, we raised fares. I don't think it's justifiable for me to ask a working man or woman in New Jersey to pay these higher fares and then have employees of NJ Transit get it for free. So there's really nothing more complicated behind it than that."