Last week, advocates in New York City told state and federal lawmakers, “Don’t X Out Transit” at two events. That message is just as resonant when it comes to [...]]]>

In 1998, dedicated tax revenue ("PTOA Receipts") covered almost 90% of non-MTA transit appropriations, but now covers less than half. (Click for larger version.)

Last week, advocates in New York City told state and federal lawmakers, “Don’t X Out Transit” at two events. That message is just as resonant when it comes to the transit systems in upstate New York. Officials at the Buffalo-area Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority outlined fare hike and service cut proposals on Monday. Earlier this year, the Central NY Regional Transportation Authority hiked bus fares in Syracuse by 75 cents (to $2 per ride, a 60% increase).

A big part of the problem is an outdated funding structure that no longer meets the needs of upstate transit riders. Non-MTA transit systems overwhelmingly rely on state aid and local taxes for their operating needs.  While the MTA’s budget includes a set of dedicated taxes and fees in the 12-county MTA region, the sole source of dedicated funding for upstate transit systems is a portion of the petroleum business tax (PBT).  Tax revenues have stayed relatively flat over the years, while operating expenses have increased over time.  Those revenues have covered less and less of what non-MTA transit systems need annually.

As a result, the upstate transit operating account has become increasingly reliant on one-shot transfers from the General Fund, redirected revenues from the downstate transit account, and redirected capital dollars. But relying on one-shot general fund transfers is not sustainable, especially given Albany’s own financial problems.  In 2009, Governor Paterson and the State Legislature swept $120 million in dedicated transportation revenues to the general fund.  In 2010, the state again deferred $55 million in transit operating aid to 2011 in hopes that the state economy would be on better footing.

In recent years, state funding for the Central NY Regional Transit Authority has declined.

This has led to declining state support for upstate agencies in recent years (see, for example, the Central NY RTA’s figures at right).

Unfortunately, according to projections by the New York Public Transit Association, transit riders upstate and downstate alike will face more fare hikes and service cuts unless Governor Cuomo and the Legislature prioritize transit. Albany officials should keep this in mind when they address transportation funding this fall. Concerns over both the NYSDOT and MTA capital construction programs will have to be addressed by the end of the year; upstate transit needs to be part of the conversation.

Graphics: Top – NYSDOT. Right – TSTC using data from Central New York RTA.

700 days since the expiration of the last federal transportation bill and seven short-term extensions later, Congress is poised to pass (drum roll please) another 6-month extension.  Yesterday, the House unanimously approved the eighth extension of SAFETEA-LU, which maintains current transportation spending levels through [...]]]> [Update: The extension has passed both the House and Senate.]

700 days since the expiration of the last federal transportation bill and seven short-term extensions later, Congress is poised to pass (drum roll please) another 6-month extension.  Yesterday, the House unanimously approved the eighth extension of SAFETEA-LU, which maintains current transportation spending levels through March 2012.  Despite Senator Tom Coburn’s determination to eliminate the transportation enhancements program (the main source of funds for pedestrian and cycling projects), observers think there are enough votes in the Senate to oppose his amendment and pass the extension as is.

(To make sure, you can e-mail your senator through Transportation For America’s website.)

Crisis Averted, for Now

Letting the surface transportation bill expire at the end of the month would have spelled disaster for the country and our region. According to analysis by the U.S. Department of Transportation, a lapse in the $51.5 billion in federal funding would put at risk more than 134,000 active road and bridge repair projects and 5,000 transit projects across the country.

USDOT also warned that an expiration of surface transportation funding would mean that state governments would stop receiving reimbursements for expenses incurred on highway projects or money already spent on transit projects. As a result, already cash-strapped states would find themselves with more financial exposure and risk.

Authorization vs. Appropriation

While the clean extension authorizes the same spending levels for highways and transit for the next six months, it does not necessarily change the total dollar amount the House will appropriate for transportation.  Confused?  In Washington D.C. authorization and appropriation are two very different things. Authorization essentially gives the government the authority to spend up to a given amount on a specified program. Appropriation is when the actual dollar amount is assigned to each program. In other words, authorization determines which funding buckets exist and how large they are, and appropriation is when the buckets are filled (or not).

So those keen to make deep cuts to transportation can still do so come March. As Tanya Snyder of Streetsblog Capitol Hill astutely notes:

Rumor has it that House Republicans are being told that the extension’s spending levels don’t change the appropriations levels the House is willing to approve, and that’s $27.7 billion for the year for highways and $5.2 billion for transit. So if the extension authorizes $19.8 billion for highways for the first six months and $4.2 billion for transit, that’s fine: It just means that for the whole second half of the year, highways would only get $7.9 billion and transit would only get $800 million. Those are deadly cuts, but it appears that transportation leaders are putting off that fight till later in order to pass an extension now.

Here’s a closer look at what the House Appropriations Committee’s 2012 budget, if approved, would do to transportation spending:

• Cut highway funding from $41 billion to $27 billion.
• Cut transit funding (excluding New Starts) from $8.3 billion to $5.3 billion.
• Cut New Starts from $1.6 billion to $1.55 billion and require that any new grant agreement include at least a 50% non-federal share.
• Eliminate funding for TIGER, high-speed rail, and TIGGER (transit energy efficiency grants).
• Prohibit any new RRIF (a loan program like TIFIA for rail projects) loans or loan guarantees. The MTA’s current capital program relies on a $3 billion RRIF loan which has not yet been awarded.
• Cut Amtrak capital funding from $922 million to $898 million.
• Cut Amtrak operating funding from $563 million to $227 million.

Another Extension?

By the time the 6-month surface transportation bill extension reaches the President’s desk, Congress will have moved onto other pressing issues such as the recommendations of the Debt Commission.  While Rep. John Mica has introduced his 6-year, cut-heavy transportation bill proposal in the House, Senator Barbara Boxer has yet to introduce her 2-year transportation bill, which maintains current funding levels, in the Senate.  The closer it gets to March 2012 without bills introduced in both chambers, the lower it falls on Congress’ priority list, and the more likely that the white whale of a long-term transportation bill will remain unattainable.

Rep. John Mica’s proposal [...]]]> Earlier this month, House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chair John Mica unveiled an outline for a 6-year federal transportation bill that would cut funding levels by about a third from existing levels, costing the region tens of thousands of jobs. Here’s a closer look at the impact.

New Jersey

Rep. John Mica’s proposal would cost the state 18,000 jobs in the first year alone, and about $1.5 billion in federal funds over three years. This could send NJ’s barely solvent Transportation Trust Fund into arrest.

To date, Governor Christie and the State Legislature have failed to pass a long-term funding solution that keeps the state’s Transportation Trust Fund solvent, relying instead on diverting at least $343 million in Port Authority funds each year for the next 5 years. As TSTC Executive Director Kate Slevin said in a release, “New Jersey’s transportation budget is already a patchwork quilt — and the state doesn’t have any patches left that can close a 30% cut in federal transportation funding.”

TSTC’s analysis of NJDOT’s Fiscal Year 2012 Capital Plan found that:

• 47.5% of all NJ’s transportation funds come from federal sources.
• 47% of all spending on road & bridge maintenance and report come from federal sources.
• Federal funding helps support 90% of NJ’s pedestrian and bicycling projects. (See a specific breakout of projects receiving federal funds here.)
• Federal funding helps support 43% of NJ’s transit projects. (See a specific breakout of projects receiving federal funds here.)

New York

The MTA’s precariously balanced plan to fully fund the last three years of its capital program (2012-2014) assumes that federal transportation funding will remain at existing levels. MTA officials told MTR that the cuts suggested in the House bill would cost the agency about $1.2 billion over three years. That’s roughly equivalent to:

• Canceling all Metro-North maintenance and improvement work in 2012, 2013, and 2014 ($1 billion)
• Canceling all NYC subway station renewal, rehabilitation, and disabled accessibility work for 2012-2014 ($1.27 billion). This includes major work at 19 stations in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens; relatively minor work at 25 stations, and “component work” and painting across the system.
• Cancelling a project to untangle the LIRR’s tracks at Jamaica Station ($360 million) and indefinitely delaying the East Side Access project to bring the LIRR to Grand Central by putting off half the work planned for 2012-14 ($886 million).

It’s difficult to determine the exact impact the bill would have on NYSDOT, as the agency doesn’t have a capital program beyond summer 2012. But its existing $7 billion, two-year capital program for 2010-2012 is extremely constrained. Federal aid represents almost half the plan. At current levels of spending, the state’s road and bridge conditions are going backwards, and upstate transit systems are struggling. A three-year cut of $1.7 billion going forward would put enormous strain on the state’s infrastructure.

Connecticut

The House proposal is especially bad news for Connecticut’s transportation projects, which greatly rely on federal support. In fact, 64.4% of ConnDOT’s 2010-2014 capital plan counts on federal support. Over the 3 remaining years of ConnDOT’s capital plan, the state faces a possible loss of $738 million in federal support.

In a sobering letter sent to USDOT last year, ConnDOT’s Acting Commissioner James Redeker said, “The reality is that we have a tremendous challenge in Connecticut… There will simply not be enough money to address all the ‘have-to-do’ projects in the State.  You will see that we have $4 billion in ‘unfunded’ initiatives in our Highway/Bridge and Public Transit program.”  Redeker goes on to explain, “The fundamental reason for this is that we have several significant (Mega) projects that will absorb a majority of federal and State funding, which severely limits the funding remaining for not only much needed preservation requirements, but potential upgrade and expansion projects as well.”

These constraints will be even tighter if the House’s plan is passed — especially if the state can’t come to a cost-saving agreement with its employees. In that case, it would have to live with its “Plan B” budget, which cuts the Special Transportation Fund by $225 million over two years.

Renata Silberblatt contributed to this story.

Image: TSTC.

A new report by T4America and the Center for Neighborhood Technology finds that a large proportion of seniors in our communities lack transit access today and that in four years, 15.5 million seniors nationwide will find themselves without transportation options at all. The report, Aging in Place, Stuck [...]]]>

(Click to read T4America's report.)

A new report by T4America and the Center for Neighborhood Technology finds that a large proportion of seniors in our communities lack transit access today and that in four years, 15.5 million seniors nationwide will find themselves without transportation options at all. The report, Aging in Place, Stuck Without Options, ranks metro areas by the percentage of seniors with poor access to public transportation, now and in 2015, and present other data on aging and transportation.

A closer look at the numbers for CT, NJ and NY show that an overwhelming majority of seniors in our region will be stuck without access to affordable travel options.  According to AARP, seniors age 65 and older who no longer drive make 15% fewer trips to the doctor, 59% fewer trips to shop or eat out and 65% fewer trips to visit friends and family, than drivers of the same age.

These findings highlight the fact that many of our communities were designed and built without considering the needs of an aging population.  However, there are steps lawmakers and transportation officials in our region are taking to fix that – by making it safer for seniors to walk and access public transportation.  As previously mentioned on MTR, programs like NYSDOT’s SafeSeniors aimed at reducing traffic injuries and fatalities for older residents need to be expanded.

One of the best examples of how these targeted efforts enhance safety and quality of life for seniors is NYCDOT’s Safe Streets for Seniors program.  NYCDOT examined accident histories across the city and identified 25 city neighborhoods that have both a high density of senior citizens and a high number of pedestrian accidents or injuries.  NYCDOT engineers evaluate pedestrian conditions in these neighborhoods from a senior citizen’s perspective and make engineering changes, such as extending pedestrian crossing times at crosswalks and shortening crossing distances, altering curbs and sidewalks, restricting vehicle turns, and narrowing roadways.  (See list of improvements here).

On the national level, T4America and AARP continue to push for national complete streets legislation that would require state DOTs to consider the needs and safety of all users of the road – including seniors who no longer drive.

Connecticut

New Jersey

New York

Source: Tables compiled by TSTC, using data from T4America’s “Aging in Place, Stuck Without Options.”

As the fate of the NYS complete streets bill (S5411) hangs in the balance in Albany, Rochester residents [...]]]>

Nine people were killed or injured while walking or cycling at the intersection of Alexander St. and Monroe Ave. in Rochester between 2006-08, making it one of the most dangerous intersections in upstate New York.

As the fate of the NYS complete streets bill (S5411) hangs in the balance in Albany, Rochester residents and organizations including The Center for Disability Rights, Reconnect Rochester, and NeighborWorks Rochester called on Assemblyman David Gantt, who represents parts of the city and chairs the State Assembly Transportation Committee, to support the bipartisan bill that is likely to be voted on in the Senate this week.  The groups cited a recent national pedestrian safety report by Transportation for America which found that from 2000-2009, 122 pedestrians were killed while waking in the Rochester area.  One in eight traffic fatalities in Rochester are pedestrians, making it one of the most dangerous places for walking in the Northeast.

Click to tell Albany to support a complete streets law.

“It pains me to see Rochester and our surrounding counties rank so poorly on this list. While I’ve seen our metro take great steps towards traffic calming and complete streets recently, our suburbs and rural areas are far behind the curve. These are not just numbers; these are human lives.  Lives that could have been saved with some thoughtful planning. It’s up to all of us to step up our efforts to push for changes at every level of government and with each new road project,” said Mike Governale, Executive Director of Reconnect Rochester.

Their call for safer streets caught the attention of Rochester media over the weekend.

“It is clear that we need to address problems on our roadways right here in Rochester,” said William Armbruster, AARP Associate State Director for Western New York. “The Assembly needs to act and make our roads safer for all users.”

Photo: Google Street View.

A new national report by Transportation for America examines the alarming number of pedestrians [...]]]>

Too many roads in the region are "dangerous by design," such as Hempstead Turnpike on Long Island, which includes multiple lanes of fast-moving cars, destinations that draw foot traffic from surrounding areas, and scarce crosswalks and other pedestrian accommodations.

A new national report by Transportation for America examines the alarming number of pedestrians killed while walking over a ten year period from 2000-2009.  Dangerous by Design 2011: Solving the Epidemic of Preventable Pedestrian Deaths (and Making Great Neighborhoods) finds that one of the biggest contributors to pedestrian fatalities is the way streets are designed.  An overwhelming proportion of these pedestrian deaths occurred along “arterial” roads, multi-lane roads through populated areas designed for speeding cars with little or no consideration for people on foot, in wheelchairs or on bicycles.  These deaths, from the simple act of walking, are preventable with safer street design that incorporate traffic calming, road diets, complete streets policies and Safe Routes to School programs.

Key findings of the report include:

• 5,109 pedestrians were killed in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut from 2000-09.
• More than 1 in 5 of total traffic deaths in New York and New Jersey are pedestrians. In Connecticut, over 1 in 8 traffic deaths are pedestrians.
• People of color and seniors are disproportionately represented in pedestrian fatalities, both in the region and across the country.
• Nationwide, pedestrian injury is the 3rd leading cause of death by unintentional injury for children 15 and younger.

The report reaffirms TSTC’s The Region’s Most Dangerous Roads analysis released earlier this year showing that regional pedestrian deaths in NY, NJ and CT remain stubbornly high, with an average of 412 pedestrian fatalities a year.

Local advocates responded by calling on the region’s Governors, State DOT Commissioners, and state and federal lawmakers to prioritize pedestrian safety:

In New York, Tri-State joined AARP, the NY League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, Reconnect Rochester, Transportation Alternatives, and Vision Long Island to call for a statewide complete streets law.

In New Jersey, Tri-State joined AARP, the state chapter of the American Planning Association, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, the Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers, NJ Bike & Walk Coalition, NJ Future, and Trenton Cycling Revolution in asking the state to restore funds to the Safe Streets to Transit program, improve safety on dangerous roads like the Burlington, White Horse, and Black Horse Pikes, and support federal complete streets legislation.

In Connecticut, TSTC and Bike Walk Connecticut, Greater Bridgeport Transit, and Elm City Cycling called on the state to pass a vulnerable user law to protect pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users.

Image: Google Street View.

Following Monday’s USDOT announcement of $2 billion for intercity rail projects across the country, officials at Alstom Transport joined the Apollo Alliance and [...]]]>

USDOT Deputy Secretary John Porcari speaks at a press conference announcing the creation of 200 new manufacturing jobs in the Rochester area. NYSDOT Commissioner Joan McDonald is seated second from right.

Following Monday’s USDOT announcement of $2 billion for intercity rail projects across the country, officials at Alstom Transport joined the Apollo Alliance and others to detail how federal, state and local transit investments have helped the company expand its Rochester facility in support of 200 new jobs.  Alstom specializes in manufacturing freight and passenger rail signaling equipment and rail passenger rolling stock.  In addition to its Rochester facility, Alstom also operates the largest rail passenger rolling stock manufacturing facility in the U.S., located in Hornell, NY.

Guillaume Mehlman, Alstom’s Managing Director in North America said, “Alstom has seen first-hand how federal and state investments in rail transportation projects help companies like ours create good jobs.  We are expanding our facility in Rochester, hiring several hundred people in order to meet additional demand created by such investments.”

Over the past six months, Alstom has secured several large-scale transportation projects, including an upgraded signaling and train control system for Atlanta’s MARTA, as well as an overhaul and modernization of 120 rail cars for the Delaware River Port Authority’s PATCO system.  It also received the first Federal Railroad Administration approval for a positive train control signal system, used to prevent train collisions.

USDOT Deputy Secretary John Porcari, NYSDOT Commissioner Joan McDonald and Brian Lombardozzi of the Apollo Alliance were also in attendance to show support for job creation through transit investments.  “With Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s vision and support, the New York State Department of Transportation is committed to helping to reinvigorate our economy through an environmentally responsible, multimodal transportation system,” said Commissioner McDonald.  “I salute Alstom Transport and the Apollo Alliance for working to create jobs in the Empire State and promoting sustainable transportation.”

Let’s hope more businesses take a page from Alstom’s book and speak loudly and often on the economic impacts of transit investments. Alstom and Rochester are hardly unique; businesses in at least 37 upstate cities and towns benefit from the MTA’s capital plan. Let’s hope federal, state and local elected officials remember this when Congress debates the size and substance of the federal transportation bill in the coming weeks and when Albany grapples with looming MTA and NYSDOT capital plan budget shortfalls this fall.

Photo: Business Wire.