Input sought for regionwide study of transportation

PHOTOGRAPHER: Edward Munger Jr.

A regional study under way includes several facets of the transportation industry in upstate New York, from railways to airports and canals.

But organizers are hoping to include another critical piece of the picture along the Mohawk-Erie corridor: the general public.

Public information sessions begin this week in Buffalo and Rochester and a meeting for the Capital Region will take place on Dec. 1

State agencies including the Department of Transportation, Thruway Authority and Canal Corp. are working with interested parties to draft the Mohawk-Erie Multimodal Transportation Corridor Study report, planned for completion in the fall of 2012.

The study represents the first effort to focus on transportation along the corridor, which bisects upstate New York.

Changes in population and local economies as well as passenger and freight transportation are being weighed with the possibilities for improvement and economic development.

“They’re all sitting down at the same table, the highway people, the railroad people, the recreation people. We all have a community of interest here,” Thruway Authority spokesman R.W. Groneman said.

“We’re not looking at traffic volumes and congestion, we’re looking at a big picture here of how we can better serve the community and promote the economy of this upstate region that runs 400 miles along the Erie corridor.”

The study is expected to position the region for growth by establishing transportation as a priority when government spends money on development.

The Mohawk-Erie Multimodal Transportation Corridor Study will lead to a report scheduled for completion in the fall of 2012.

Those interested in providing input can attend a local meeting being held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 1, at The Crossings of Colonie meeting house, 580 Albany Shaker Road, Loudonville.

More information can be found on the Internet at www.dot.ny.gov/mohawk-erie-study.