Photo Courtesy of Comptroller Stringer’s Office
“From Congestion Pricing to the 14th Street Busway, from Vision Zero to our plaza program, from the newly announced bike lane on the Brooklyn Bridge to our investments in bike infrastructure—time and again measures pursued by New York City have inspired cities around the country,” Comptroller Stringer wrote.
By Forum Staff
City Comptroller Scott Stringer on Thursday sent a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg urging immediate investments in the city’s transportation infrastructure that will jumpstart local and economic national recovery.
Stringer underscored that investments in transit, pedestrian, and bicycle infrastructure are critical for a more sustainable, healthy, and equitable future. Stringer highlighted that these various transit modes are not only central to New Yorkers’ daily life and the vitality of our city, but that a joint effort to make necessary investments in public transit and sustainable infrastructure would cause significant, positive ripple effects.
The comptroller called on the U.S. DOT to immediately:
Scale back highways, rebuilding neighborhoods that have been divided by highway infrastructure, and convene a joint taskforce with the State and the City to develop a comprehensive plan for the five boroughs. Stringer has proposed scaling down a section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (Interstate-278), limiting it exclusively to truck access and building a two-mile linear park. Federal funding is needed for this type of planning citywide, particularly in neighborhoods where highway infrastructure is linked to poor air quality, high asthma rates, and related environmental and health inequities.
Invest in annual operating grants to transit agencies. The Federal DOT should extend operating funding to agencies as large as New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and require service standards reform to improve service during off-peak times. “From Congestion Pricing to the 14th Street Busway, from Vision Zero to our plaza program, from the newly announced bike lane on the Brooklyn Bridge to our investments in bike infrastructure—time and again measures pursued by New York City have inspired cities around the country,” Stringer wrote. “As such, a joint effort to dramatically scale back New York City highways and make necessary investments in public transit would have huge, positive ripple effects across the country.”
Reevaluate Port Authority’s AirTrain proposal, given recent Federal Aviation Administration rule changes and strongly consider extending the N Train subway line to LaGuardia Airport.
Implement federal DOT’s Draft Strategic Plan on Accessible Transportation as soon as possible. Creating a simple, streamlined grant program for subway station ADA retrofits would be transformative in New York City, where three-quarters of stations are inaccessible to those with long-term disabilities and injuries, as well as parents with young children.
Dedicate a federal DOT funding stream for integrating commuter lines into urban transportation networks, with unified fares across rail, subway, and bus systems and regular all-day service. Integrating and modernizing commuter rail is one of the quickest and most cost-effective methods for radically improving urban transit in the United States, the comptroller noted.
“To date, the plans and pronouncements you have announced have been ambitious and encouraging, recognizing that investments in transit, pedestrian, and bicycle infrastructure are critical for a more sustainable, healthy, and equitable future. In New York City, these various transit modes are central to our daily life and the vitality of our city. We trust that your arrival at the U.S. Department of Transportation will bode well for the five boroughs,” Stringer wrote to Buttigieg.
