Andy Byford has resigned as president of the New York City Transit Authority, after building a track record that includes ridership and service improvements on the troubled MTA subway system.
"Andy Byford, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority transit chief credited with leading the turnaround of the New York City subway system, is resigning again," reports Dana Rubinstein.
The word "again" deployed here because Byford rescinded a resignation in October 2019—about the same time as ridership and service improvements started to arrive on the MTA subway system, and the MTA announced a large capital investment to improve elevator access to system stations. Numerous other ambitious plans made their debut during Byford's tenure, a $19 billion repair program, speed limit increases, and the "Bus Action Plan," to name a sample.
Central to Byrford's previous frustrations, according to Byford, was another signature initiative of Byford's tenure: repairing signals.
The MTA’s leadership ultimately convinced him to rescind that resignation, in part by promising to let him retain control over subway resignaling — a Byford hobbyhorse considered key to turning around the subway system over the long term. A Cuomo-driven reorganization threatened to take the resignaling away from New York City Transit and give it to the MTA’s newly centralized capital construction force.
A statement released by Byford, quoted in the article, doesn't reveal the reasoning behind the resignation.
FULL STORY: Byford, Cuomo’s popular subways chief, resigns (for good this time)
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.