November 17, 2009
The Honorable Jay Walder
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
347 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Dear Chairman Walder:
The Long Island Railroad Commuter Council, with the full support of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, is extremely concerned about the status of the LIRR Main Line Corridor Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). It has come to our attention that a letter to the FTA that requesting suspension of the DEIS process for the project is awaiting your signature. We are writing to urgently ask you to delay signing such a letter until reviewing our concerns below and considering our proposal for moving forward.
Unfortunately, the LIRR has not adequately managed the planning and public review process for this project on multiple levels. Now it has radically changed its position on the Main Line Corridor plan - from top priority to non-existent — citing homeowner opposition and lack of political support. While opposition to the Main Line Corridor project among the small number of affected homeowners was always to be expected, the planning discussions have been riddled with rumors and false assumptions about public and legislator support for the project. Among the groups solidly behind the project is our organization, which represents the interests of 120,000 riders of the LIRR, in addition to key transit, business and economic development groups. Despite the latest moves by the LIRR, it is a project from which we will not retreat.
Our principal points of concern about the DEIS process regarding actions not taken by the LIRR, include:
- Not communicating with the FTA in the year since the FTA returned the DEIS with comments to the LIRR.
- Not responding to the FTA’s request in February 2009 for a letter explaining the LIRR’s intent for the project.
- Not conferring with the FTA for guidance on the best way to proceed to achieve the end goal - a completed third track as soon as possible..
- Not conducting a meaningful outreach effort to community groups and government officials about the project benefits and logistics. For example, the City Planner in Farmingdale as of Spring 2009 still believed that the Third Track would continue to Farmingdale and that the LIRR was interested in increasing freight traffic on the line.
Given the LIRR’s current stance on a project that was once deemed a top priority, the LIRRCC and PCAC request a formal review by the MTA Planning Department and under the direction of William Wheeler, Director of MTA Planning and Special Projects. Mr. Wheeler has extensive experience working with the FTA and would be an invaluable source of advice regarding this project. Specifically, we propose that the MTA Planning Department independently assess how best to proceed with the project by reviewing the original DEIS and the resulting FTA comments.
Both the PCAC and LIRRCC are supportive of Main Line Corridor project and of working with the MTA to make it succeed. We look forward to hearing more about your thinking on the project and strongly recommend that, at the very least, you refrain from making irreversible decisions until you have adequate time to consider where the need for the project, its costs and impacts, and the benefits and opportunities that it promises for Long Island.
Sincerely,
Maureen Michaels
Chair