New York transportation agencies might have hoped for a reprieve from the tough budgetary environment of 2009. 2010 was hardly a respite, however, as governments throughout the region continued to be squeezed by the economic downturn. The overall story of 2010 was one of fare hikes, service cuts, and diminished expectations. But advocates were able to win several policy reforms, and leaders like NYCDOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and MTA Chairman Jay Walder had success in adapting to hard times. Here are some of the themes from the year:

State and Local Policy Reform

During the first half of the year, advocates repeatedly trekked to Albany to press for policy reform. By the close of session, the Legislature had passed a statewide smart growth bill, given NYC the ability to use bus lane enforcement cameras, and made life a little safer for pedestrians through the passage of Hayley and Diego’s Law (which created penalties for careless driving) and Elle’s Law (which strengthened penalties for reckless drivers that injure or kill a pedestrian).  One major priority that wasn’t reached this year was a state complete streets bill, but advocates succeeded in pushing it up the agenda; the bill has some level of support from incoming governor Andrew Cuomo.

And while proponents of complete streets came up just short at the state level in 2010, they poured just as much energy into local reform. Partnering with smart local leaders, advocates used data in Babylon, Islip, and Brookhaven; a health-focused approach in Kingston; and a locally oriented strategy in Elizabethtown to win passage of complete streets policies in all five municipalities.

Infrastructure Needs Not Met

Funding is an issue at all of the state’s major transportation agencies. Coming into 2010, NYSDOT had already drafted a five-year capital spending program that was clearly fiscally constrained. But under orders from Gov. Paterson, the agency released an even smaller capital program which will not hold the line on bridge repair and cuts smart growth programs.  The MTA goes into 2011 without funding for capital projects in 2012 and beyond.  In November, Lt. Gov. Richard Ravitch released a report which found that the state would need to come up with another $1.3 billion a year in dedicated revenue to support the MTA and NYSDOT capital plans.  At the end of the year, the Port Authority released an underwhelming budget that largely maintains the status quo.

Jay Walder Takes Charge at the MTA

In January, new MTA Chairman Jay Walder released a strategic plan based on his first 100 days on the job. Its title fit right with the spirit of the times: “Making Every Dollar Count.” The agency subsequently used administrative streamlinings resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in savings.

But a transportation funding plan put together by elected officials in 2009, which had been seen as barely sufficient, proved to be even less sufficient than that, as dedicated transit taxes continued to bring in less revenue than predicted.  Politicians swept $160 million from the supposedly dedicated taxes into the state budget. The result was a gaping budget hole.  The MTA eventually relented in an attempt to cut or have NYC and the state pick up more of the cost of providing free NYC student MetroCards. But the worst service cuts in decades, along with a 7.5% fare increase that went into effect at the end of the year, will hardly endear the agency to its riders.

Transit riders have benefited from the new common-sense approach Walder has brought to technology projects, however. For example, the MTA has rolled out subway countdown clocks that use existing technology, instead of waiting for more expensive solutions managers wanted before Walder’s arrival.  The MTA also released transit data to developers, allowing third parties to develop smartphone apps and websites at essentially no cost, and promised drivers faster commutes with nonstop tolls at the Henry Hudson Bridge.

Long Island Bus in the Lurch

Nassau County and the MTA have jointly funded the county’s LI Bus system — and continually bickered over how much each should contribute — for a decade. Bus riders caught in this dysfunctional marriage have repeatedly suffered through service cuts and threats of fare hikes in the past.

But things have rarely been as bad as they were in 2010, when the MTA decided it had had enough and eventually voted to cut all funding to LI Bus at its December board meeting. Nassau’s initial responses didn’t do bus riders any favors, consisting primarily of name-calling and a pie-in-the-sky privatization scheme.

The two parties finally seem to be engaging each other. The ability of 100,000 bus riders to get around hinges on the success of their negotiations.

Stagnation at NYSDOT

Unlike other state transportation agencies, NYSDOT spent the entire year under an acting commissioner. It showed, with lack of reform. What good news did occur typically came after pressure from advocates and community members.

A perfect example has been the Sheridan Expressway, a stub highway in the South Bronx which community members have been fighting to remove to free up space for parks and development. Advocates had succeeded in the past at getting the agency to study this community plan.  But NYSDOT announced it would do so by comparing an interchange redesign against a “no Sheridan” option that imagined the Sheridan simply fenced off to traffic — hardly a fair comparison.  Later in the year, New York City won a federal grant to conduct its own land use and transportation study for the site, which should give the state agency a better basis for comparison.

On the brighter side, the state DOT agreed that an earlier decision to open up the Staten Island Expressway’s bus lanes to carpools with as few as 2 people in them was misguided. On Long Island, the agency moved forward with the Route 347 “vision plan” (a complete-streets alternative to what had been a straightforward road widening) and some “SafeSeniors” pedestrian safety projects. And transit-oriented development training workshops for the Tappan Zee/I-287 corridor project got off to a promising start.

What do the last three developments have in common? They are all legacy projects pioneered under Astrid Glynn, the department’s last commissioner. Acting commissioner Stan Gee was unable to pioneer many original programs.

Continued Innovation in New York City

Meanwhile, NYC DOT continued to roll out smart project after smart project.  At the beginning of the year, the city previewed a complete-streets makeover of First and Second Avenues in Manhattan, coupled with a Select Bus Service upgrade for the M15, which runs on those avenues. The city is working on a redesign of 34th Street that would add a two-way busway to the road. On Brooklyn’s Prospect Park West in Brooklyn, the agency has improved safety for all road users by replacing one auto lane with a two-way bike lane. In November, the city announced it would solicit proposals for private companies to run a city-wide bike share system.

One of the factors driving NYC’s success has been Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan’s ability to get improvements done on the cheap.  Adding bus lanes and bike lanes, even physically separated ones, pays big safety and mobility dividends without costing much. In fact, during a City Council oversight hearing in December, Sadik-Khan revealed to councilmembers that all of the bike projects built since she took over NYC DOT in 2007 have cost only $9 million — with just $2 million of it coming from the city.

Leadership Needed

2010’s transportation victories came on the policy side.  Things like bus lane improvement cameras, bicycle lanes, and releasing MTA data to developers all lead to a better transportation system without breaking the bank. New York’s effective transportation leaders all found ways to “do more with less.” That innovation will remain critical in 2011.

But the state can’t innovate its way out of the need to maintain bridges and repair train tracks. As Lt. Gov. Ravitch wrote in his November assessment of the state’s transportation network, without new financial commitments to transportation, New York will have to “do less with less” in the coming years. That’s a future that Andrew Cuomo, who was sworn in as governor at the beginning of the year, must work to prevent.