Political Alert: Bridge Crosses Potential Voters, Too
by Dave Zornow
Nyack, Jan 2 — More than eight out of ten people living in the Nyack River Villages want a new Tappan Zee Bridge to include some form of mass transit, according to a survey conducted between Dec 22 and 28.
The vast majority of respondents — 84 percent — agreed with the statement “The new Tappan Zee Bridge should include some form of mass transit when it is built.” Six percent supported Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plan to build the bridge first and add transit sometime in the future. Five percent say we don’t need a new bridge.
| Which statement best describes your opinion about building a new Tappan Zee Bridge? |
|
| We don’t need a new bridge. | 5% |
| I am in favor of Governor Cuomo’s plan to build the bridge without mass transit. If trains or buses are needed, we can add them in the future. | 6% |
| The new Tappan Zee Bridge should include some form of mass transit when it is built. | 84% |
| I don’t know enough about this to express an opinion. | 5% |
Politicians who ignore the bridge issue do so at their own peril. A strong majority (74%) say that what elected leaders say today will effect how they vote in future elections.
| Will the position taken by elected officials on a new Tappan Zee Bridge affect your vote in the next election? | ||
| Total | Mass Transit Supporters |
|
| Yes | 74% | 77% |
| No | 12% | 11% |
| No opinion | 14% | 11% |
On December 15, 2011, a coalition of 11 Democratic and Republican politicians and 16 other pro-union, pro-environment, pro-business groups announced their opposition to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s plan to build a new Tappan Zee Bridge without mass transit. The only local official to publicly support the governor’s position without reservation is Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee (D- Suffern). ‘€œAfter years of planning and deliberation, I am not prepared to delay construction on a replacement bridge by demanding the perfect at the expense of the possible,’€ said Jaffee. ‘€œI will continue to advocate for BRT as planning and construction proceed, in addition to always being able to add BRT after the project is completed,’€ she said.
These results are based on the responses of 220 online questionnaires completed by NyackNewsAndViews readers during December 22-28, 2011. Seventy-three percent of the respondents indicated they were from Nyack or the adjacent river villages with another 18 percent from elsewhere in Rockland County. Although these results are not necessarily representative of the broader population, they are consistent with other online polls conducted over the last several months on this issue.
See also: Mass Transit Coalition: An unHappy Tappan Zee Bridge BDay, 12/16/2011
