Report: Commuters Choosing To Drive

Driving is a choice, not a necessity, for most commuters traveling into Manhattan's business district, according to a report released yesterday by a transit advocacy group.The report, by Schaller Consulting, shows that 90% of commuters who use personal cars have access to buses, subways, and trains. Five business groups called on the mayor to move the city away from the Robert Moses-era tenet that "cities are created by and for traffic."

In a letter earlier this week that included an advance copy of the report, the groups said: "We feel the City is provided not just with a strong rationale, but a mandate to go far above and beyond current piecemeal efforts to relieve traffic and promote alternatives to driving." The groups include the Columbus Avenue, North Flatbush,and Sutphin Boulevard Business Improvement Districts. Mayor Bloomberg yesterday said he welcomes alternative views on the city's transit policy, but said he was against turning some streets into pedestrian-only areas.

Paul Steely White, the head of the advocacy group that commissioned the study, Transportation Alternatives, said the mayor is in a good place to help the city change the future of city transit.

"With all the new development will come more traffic congestion and lower quality of life. Transportation is not going to sort itself out," he said.