Report from the Chair: Sept./Oct. 2022

In addition to my role as Lackawanna Coalition chairperson, I am a member of SCDRTAC, the Senior Citizens and Disabled Residents Transportation Advisory Committee of NJ Transit, and I find more and more common concerns. At the last SCDRTAC meeting, member Sara Thompson gave a presentation on issues that affect riders with hearing limitations, and they are some of the same issues that have been discussed recently on our informal e-mail list: quality of PA announcements on trains and in stations; use of the visual station announcement system on railcars, and even the translucency, rather than transparency, of train windows, especially on the newer dual-level cars.

Last month, Sam Turvey reported on RethinkNYC/Empire State Coalition’s opposition to the New York governors’ proposals to expand NY Penn Station—or to expand the office buildings around it, with some murmurings about expanding transit, but most focus on welcoming people into the city—we wonder how pleased the presumed visitors would be to have a grand space with the same old infrequent, unreliable transit.

Our Bay Head inspection trip was another success (though the schedule and the long line at the bakery meant that refreshments had to wait until the Asbury Park Bierhall, Aberdeen, or other points north, including dinner in the Newark Ironbound for some).

We’re looking forward to a new “school year”, with a presentation by David Antonio of the Essex County Transportation Planning Study in October, our officers’ elections in December, and more community outreach and rider engagement in 2023.

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