New York Receives “F” for Roadway Evacuation Ability
EVACUATION-HOUR
The Norwalk Hour
Jamie Hammon
Boston University Washington News Service
10-12-06
WASHINGTON, Oct. 12– If a disaster caused everyone to evacuate New York City tomorrow, the evacuation itself might be a disaster, according to a new study released Thursday, which gave the city an “F” grade for its evacuation capabilities.
New York was not alone in its poor grade. The study, conducted by the American Highway Users Alliance, assessed the evacuation capacity of the 37 U.S. urban areas with populations of more than one million, and found that more than half of the areas failed. The alliance is a non-profit advocacy organization that represents the transportation community.
In the wake of epic catastrophes like 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, the issue of mass evacuation is both brand new and of undeniable importance.
“This study makes clear that not only the physical infrastructure must be adequate to accommodate large volumes of traffic with short notice, but also the operational infrastructure must be adequate,” said Peter J. Pantuso, president of the American Bus Association, which helped fund the study.
One piece of good news from the study, said Gregory M. Cohen, president of the American Highway Users Alliance, is that nearly every area is better off when it comes to automobile access than New Orleans was in 2005.
There was one exception, however. “Only New York scores lower,” Cohen said.
Even though 90 percent of those who commute from Connecticut to New York rely on railways rather than roadways, they are still not immune to the congestion.
“We don’t have enough seats for passengers as it is – we have passengers that are paying $300 a month as it is to stand for an hour each way,” said Jim Cameron, chairman of Connecticut Metro North Rail Commuter Council. “So if there was an evacuation, if there was something that had to be immediate – the trains are jammed as it is.”
There are 2,400 Norwalk residents who commute daily by train to New York.
Suggestions made in the study include the creation of bus-exclusive lanes, expanded roadways, increased automobile accessibility among low-income households, more complete planning from transportation officials, and the establishment of national urban evacuation standards by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“The dedicated bus lane I think is a good idea,” Cameron said. “Bus lanes I think make sense in areas that don’t have the density to support a rail infrastructure. But you can’t put a bus on a crowded highway and expect to attract riders, because now they are stuck in traffic, but they are stuck with people they’d rather not be sitting next to.”
Metro-North Railroad has contingency plans in place in case of an emergency, said spokesman Dan Brucker. “We let the Metropolitan Transit Authority and the New York City Office of Emergency Management know what kinds of equipment we have available and how many trains we can manage in and out of Grand Central Station,” he said.
The new study presents a challenge, Pantuso said, “to cities, states, planners, and both private and public entities. We must work together in order for our road system and our operational planning to meet the challenge of mass evacuation so that, together, we can deliver people to safety.”
####
