The Port Authority’s Mark Hoffer (standing) addressed the Borough Board on Monday.
Forum Photo by Michael V. Cusenza
Port Authority representatives on Monday visited the Borough Board in the second-floor conference room at Borough Hall to detail Cross Harbor Freight Program options and encourage input from the public in choosing the best regional solutions for freight-related traffic congestion.
The primary purpose of the CHFP, according to the Port Authority and Federal Highway Administration, is to improve the movement of freight across New York Harbor between the east-of-Hudson and west-of-Hudson regions. By improving the movement of goods across the harbor, the CHFP would provide near-term and long-term improvements to the regional freight network, reduce truck traffic congestion, improve air quality, and provide economic benefits.
Ten build alternatives have been selected for evaluation of benefits and potential environmental effects in the Environmental Impact Statement: five waterborne and five rail tunnel. The four project goals are: reduce the contribution of cross-harbor truck trips to congestion along the region’s major freight corridors relative to No Action conditions; provide cross-harbor freight shippers, receivers, and carriers with additional, attractive modal options to existing interstate trucking services; expand facilities for cross-harbor goods movement to enhance system resiliency, safety and security, and infrastructure protection; and support development of integrated freight transportation/land use strategies.
Mark Hoffer, director of New Port Initiatives at the Port Authority, said the agency needs the assistance of residents not necessarily in deciding on construction details, but what to take to Tier 2, the next phase of the CHFP.
“We’re a long way off from building anything,” Hoffer noted. “But it is time for the public to weigh in on this.”
The massive project, Hoffer admitted, will come with a hefty price tag attached.
“We’re not talking small numbers,” he said. “It is not cheap…very, very expensive.”
However, Hoffer reiterated throughout the discussion, it is imperative that something is put in place to remedy current conditions.
“I will not sit here and say that any of these choices are easy or pain free,” he said. “But with more and more people consuming more stuff, we need to do something. We let a lot of rail infrastructure go, and made some poor decisions that we’re paying for now. We need to take a fresh look before the future gets away from us, just like it did 30 years ago.”
For more information, visit crossharborstudy.com.
By Michael V. Cusenza
