AMNY Subway Tracker

The proposal to rename the Triborough Bridge the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge passed the final hurdle on Wednesday when the state assembly approved the change.

The MTA controlled toll bridge — actually three bridges and 14-miles of approach roads that connect Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens — opened in 1936. New York's former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1968.

(via flickr's world_of_pj)

Gov. Eliot Spitzer is expected to announce in his State of the State address tomorrow that he wants to name the Triborough Bridge after former New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy who was assassinated in 1968. A source in his administration said that after the speech, Spitzer will make a formal request to MTA officials whose Bridges and Tunnels agency oversees the span. Not suprisingly, Kennedy family members told the Times and the Sun they're all for the honor.

The City Council's Transportation Committee will probe government agencies
that monitor, maintain and repair city bridges tomorrow. From Councilman John Liu's office:

City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and officials from the State Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as well as the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey are expected to testify before the
Committee, which will be joined by Council Speaker Christine Quinn.
This hearing was convened in the wake of the Minnesota I-35W bridge
collapse on August 1, 2007 that resulted in 13 deaths and hundreds of
injuries. Governor Eliot Spitzer ordered the inspection of similar
deck truss bridges in New York State. While officials found five
bridges in New York State have structural issues that require further
investigation, they concluded that most of the 49 deck truss bridges
inspected are structurally sound in a report published last week.

(via flickr's Triborough)

Here's the breakdown of the Manhattan Bridge's traffic flow as of Oct. 1. The Daily News reported today that the low deck will reopen with New York's first high-occupancy vehicle lane over the East River.

From DOT:
Cars And Buses To Manhattan
May use the upper roadway at all times. From 6:00 am to 10:00 am, the left lane of the upper roadway is reserved for cars with two or more people and buses. Drivers to Manhattan may use the lower roadway from 5:00 am to 3:00 pm Monday to Friday. Drivers wishing to go to Canal Street westbound toward the Holland Tunnel (5:00 am to 3:00 pm Monday to Friday and weekends) should use the lower roadway.

Cars And Buses To Brooklyn
May use the upper roadway at all times and lower roadway from 3:00 pm to 5:00 am Monday to Friday.

Accessing the HOV 2+ Lane
Between the hours of 6:00 am and 10:00 am Monday to Friday cars with two or more people and buses may use the HOV lane to Manhattan (left lane of the inbound upper roadway). They may access the lane from the Brooklyn Queens Expressway (BQE) eastbound Exit 29A or from Flatbush Avenue (follow signs) or from the BQE westbound Exit 29, then turn right onto Gold Street or proceed straight onto Flatbush Avenue.
Download the access map.

In Manhattan the left turn from the upper roadway onto Canal Street at Chrystie Street is prohibited from 5:00 am to 3:00 pm Monday to Friday. Vehicles utilizing the HOV lane will have access to Chrystie Street northbound and Canal Street eastbound.

Trucks to Manhattan
Must use the lower roadway from 5:00 am to 3:00 pm Monday to Friday, during which time trucks will be prohibited from using the BQE eastbound Exit 29A "Manhattan Bridge." During that time trucks must use the BQE eastbound Exit 29B "Brooklyn Civic Center/Tillary Street" to access the lower roadway at Flatbush Avenue.
Download the access map.

Trucks to Brooklyn
May use the upper roadway at all times and lower roadway from 3:00 pm to 5:00 am Monday to Friday.

Weekends
On weekends Friday 9:00 pm to Monday 5:00 am the lower roadway will operate Manhattan bound. Manhattan bound cars and trucks may use the lower roadway or upper roadway.

(via flickr's Nachosan)

From DOT:

Williamsburg Bridge: Temporary Closure of North Bicycle and Pedestrian Path
Cyclists take note: due to necessary maintenance work on the Williamsburg Bridge the north bicycle path is closed full-time until September 14th. The path will then reopen to cyclists on weekends (3:30 pm Friday-6 am Monday). Cyclists and pedestrians should use the south path in the interim.

If you're a night owl or work the graveyard shift, avoid the Triborough Bridge to or from Manhattan the next two days. The Harlem Lift Span portion of the bridge will be closed between 3:15 a.m. and 3:50 a.m. tomorrow and between 12 a.m. and 5 a.m. Thursday. That portion of the bridge will be closed tomorrow to allow marine traffic to pass. Maintenance work will close the bridge Thursday. The MTA expects delays during these early morning commutes.

Quid pro cong. City Comptroller Thompson supports congestion pricing, so long as city residents get a break and mass transit gets a boost. [Crain's]

Bridging the gaps. MTA approved more than $700,000 to repair LIRR bridges. [Newsday]

Green's the new black. MTA making sure its bus and truck maintenance facilities are up to environmental snuff. [Media Newswire]

And speaking of green. Plans afoot for a greener Queens Plaza to make it more attractive to retailers and residents. [Times Ledger]

-- Rolando Pujol

Photo: As morning traffic rushes by, yoga enthusiasts participate in a summer solstice "yoga-thon" today in the center of Times Square to celebrate the first day of summer. (Getty Images)

(Courtesy of the MTA)

Chin up, commuters. (At least those of you who use the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge regularly.) The MTA is looking into possibly widening the bridge and roadways that feed into it, hoping to make your ride smoother. What that all will entail will be revealed in about six months by the MTA’s Bridges and Tunnels Committee. By the way, the original plan was to replace the main cable holding up the bridge, but a 6,000-ton weight loss in 2006 nixed the need for new support.

--Marlene Naanes

Port Authority scare: Man causes bomb scare -- and pandemonium -- at the Port Authority today. [amNY]

Deadly day: Two dead in scaffolding accidents in city, including one at Queensboro Bridge. [amNY]

As good a time as any: MTA starts planning ahead for the needs of New York in 2030. [amNY]

Map this: Gothamist starts rolling out interesting subway maps; the first looks at links between trains and development in the city. [Gothamist]

We have nothing to fear but hype: Good comments on yesterday's FDR post here and here.

-- Rolando Pujol

Staten Island wants to represent.

Two of the boroughs state legislators, Assemblyman Vincent Ignizio and Sen. Diane Savino, announced a bi-partisan bill to force the MTA board to reserve one seat for a Staten Island resident.

“This legislation will given Staten Island a stronger voice in the MTA. Our borough accounts for $246.3 million in revenue, just from the Verrazano Bridge alone. The MTA has been using us as a cash cow and the time has come to ensure that we always representation on the board.”

Currently Francis Powers, a Pataki appointee, is the lone Staten Island resident on the board.

New York City’s mayor appoint 4 of the 18 board members and three of the five governor’s appointees must be New York City residents.

-- Chuck Bennett