DEP Invoice or Financial Record, September 30, 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

City urges use of Today^s traffic may be worst yet By JOSE MARTINEZ OAliyNEWSSBWWRnER

With many more people expected to return to transit work today, city officials have issued a special plea for commuters to use mass transit. “Mass transit, mass transit, mass transit — that’s the message,” said Tom Cocola, a city Department of Transponation spokesman. .As the city gradually fights its way back toward full operation. Co­ cola warned that today could be “our toughest, roughest day” for traffic in the aftermath of the ~^orL\( Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. ■We hope those coming back had time to think about what sort of alternatives they might The trains will skip the Cham­ have,” Cocola said. bers St. station. Traffic was lighter than nor­ On the E line, trains no longer mal last week because of the will be steered into Brooklyn, as Jewish holiday and because they had been since the disaster. some people may have been re­ The line will make its final south­ luctant to return to work in the bound stop at Canal St. aftermath of the assault on the twin towers. But Transit Authority officials Still, security checkpoints and hope straphangers remain pa­ road closings slowed drivers en­ tient with the altered routes, tering ,Manhanan through most which are meant to deposit com­ East Rjver and Hudson River muters within “a couple of cros-suigs Delays at the Ltncoln r.n.-wl reached up to three blocks” of their destination, said h,>urh spokesman Al O’Leary. .As oi today, though, city and “New Yorkers are resilient,” transit officials expect most peo­ O’Leary said. “They will deal ple to be back at work — and with change when they under­ back on the roads. stand it’s not the fault of incom­ In addition to encouraging petence or ineptitude.” public transit, officials planned NJTransit commuters can use to reopen some roadways into a bus-ferry service that will take and out of Manhattan, where ve­ hicular access remains limited them from Liberty State Park in south of Canal St, Jersey City to Pier 16, near Ful­ Two Brooklyn-bound lanes of ton St, in lower Manhattan. the Brooklyn Bridge were slated NJTransit’s No. 120 buses to reopen to cars this morning from Bayonne and No, 134 from the southbound-FDR buses from Old Bridge also wiU Drive, make stops at the park, along The Holland Tunnel may re­ with Academy and Coach/USA open to New Jersey-bound traf­ Suburban buses. fic by this afternoon. There is no parking available To ease congestion on Manhat­ at Liberty State Park’s ferry pick­ tan’s West Side, 11th Ave, will up point, continue to be two-way between NJTransit also will begin pro­ 34th and 42nd Sts, viding an extra Midtown Direr, Alternate-side parking rules train at 8:13 a,m, from Sumnu! remain suspended. N,J,, to Penn Station, Straphangers have extra com­ muting options, too. Service on the C line, which had been suspended, is set to re­ sume today along its standard route, from 168th St, in Manhat­ tan to Euclid Ave, in Brooklyn,

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