Chapter 1 — Background and Planning Context
Chapter 1 1 BACKGROUND AND PLANNING CONTEXT 1 Background and Planning Context The West of the Hudson Regional Transit Access Study (WHRTAS) has been initiated by MTA Metro- North Railroad (Metro-North) in partnership with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (Port Authority) and in cooperation with New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and New Jersey Transit (NJT) to improve mobility and accessibility in the West of Hudson region. Projected population and employment growth in Orange County, together with growth in ridership on Metro-North’s West of Hudson commuter service and a projected rise in Stewart International Airport (SWF) operations, necessitates the consideration of improved and expanded transit services for travelers in the region. WHRTAS evaluates alternatives for improving transit services between Central Orange County and Manhattan and access to SWF from the surrounding regions, Lower Hudson Valley and New York City. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is the lead federal agency for this study which is being conducted in accordance with FTA’s Alternatives Analysis requirements for New Starts program funds. The study also considered the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. Extensive agency coordination and public outreach was implemented to obtain input and guidance throughout this study. This included the formation of a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), which reviewed study material, advised on technical issues, and coordinated with a broad array of elected officials, agencies, organizations, and the general public through direct communication, workshops, roundtable discussions, and open houses. WHRTAS is being conducted in two phases. Phase I is the initial Alternatives Analysis (AA) phase, which evaluates the benefits, costs, and impacts of broad range of transit alternatives with the potential to meet the project's goals and objectives and concludes with the recommendation of a short list of alternatives.
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