TRENTON – Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg issued this statement following news that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey had launched the federal environmental review process that marks a real step forward on the redevelopment and rehabilitation of the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan, which when completed will greatly improve the commuting experience for several thousand New Jerseyans who work in the city.
“The Port Authority Bus Terminal — opened in 1950, and expanded in 1981 — has long since become a source of aggravation and great frustration for frenzied New Jersey commuters who know all too well its many shortcomings,” said Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, a long-time transit advocate and champion of redevelopment and modernization of the terminal, which before the pandemic served an estimated 260,000 passenger trips on weekdays.
“A 21st Century bus terminal that provides greater reliability, more space and basic modern conveniences will make life easier for commuters, and their families, and will play a crucial role in the further growth of our regional economy, and indeed serve to bolster the economic vitality of the entire nation.”
The environmental review process will include a total of four public meetings to be held virtually on June 23 and June 24. The Federal Transit Administration published its Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement based on the final scoping document on the proposal, which calls for replacement of the existing terminal on Eighth Avenue for commuter bus services with a state-of-the-art facility, a potential 40-percent increase in bus rider capacity, and a bus storage and staging building expected to decrease dramatically the number of buses on congested city streets.
“This is a day so many of us have wished for and worked for over the years,” added Senator Weinberg. “This is a technologically ambitious and creative plan that will reimagine the bus terminal, and drastically improve the daily commuting experience for hundreds of thousands of New Jersey commuters for many years to come.”