EPA press release on WTC cleaning hotline launch, June 2002

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

ments must make business trips across the nation and globe more convenient in order to maintain the competitiveness of the industry-leading firms of Lower Manhattan. • Improve Access To the Region’s High Growth Areas Lower Manhattan must become more accessible to the region's growing labor pools. Currently, Lower Manhattan benefits from strong links to some portions of the commuter market, e.g., com­ munities in New Jersey. However, its connection to the fast-growing counties of Long Island should be significantly improved. Transportation investments should aim to improve the everyday commute of workers from Long Island and other parts of the region in order to make Lower Manhattan a desirable place in which to locate major companies. • Promote New Commercial and Retail Development The volume of people passing through the new transit complex every day will provide lucrative opportunities for retailers and restaurants and will stimulate new business to locate in proximity to the station. Indeed, the new permanent PATH terminal itself will include shops, restaurants, and markets, restoring the retail activity that existed within the original World Trade Center concourse. Building upon the traffic and streetscape improvements that will make downtown streets more attractive and navigable, these new retail facilities will serve workers, residents, and visitors whose presence at various times of day will help make Lower Manhattan a 24-hour community. • Improve Efficiency, Connectivity, and the Passenger Experience Increasing the efficiency of the existing transit system is an extremely cost-effective way to increase capacity while at the same time enhancing the overall passenger experience. Improving connections among rail lines, increasing linkages between different modes of transit, and modernizing station facilities can yield valuable benefits in reducing the time it takes to make transfers and to travel in and out of subway stations. Similar improvements to the passenger environment have shown posi­ tive results in the past: the MTA's first major capital program for the entire subway system in the 198O’s included massive renovations and upgrades to passenger facilities. The program successfully improved the passenger perception of the subways and, as a result, ridership increased. Since 1996, subway and bus ridership has increased by 27% and 50% percent, respectively. • Ease Surface Congestion Commercial and residential districts depend upon streets and sidewalks as primary means of move­ ment. Surface congestion slows the movement of both people and goods, diminishing economic activity and hindering residential life. For the anticipated growth in Lower Manhattan, including the surge in visitors, a strategy must be formulated for dealing with loading and unloading of freight, dropping off and picking up passengers, bus parking, and other vehicular traffic issues. Alleviating sidewalk congestion and improving the overall pedestrian experience are also critical needs for improving quality of life for residents. The new streets established as part of the redevel­ opment of the World Trade Center site will play an important role in the strategy to rationalize the street network and create a lively, attractive new streetscape for a revitalized downtown.

• Promote Active Pedestrian Life on the Streets If Lower Manhattan is to be active seven days a week, 24 hours a day, it must be welcoming to pedestrians on its streets at all hours. Residents, workers, and visitors are all drawn to street activity, and want to live, work, and visit places that are vital and energetic. All transportation improvements should be geared toward enlivening the streets that surround them, and the streets themselves should be improved to encourage pedestrians to walk, shop, and spend more time in Lower Manhattan. Introduction 13

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