Last week, Tri-State listed the many reasons we have to be thankful in 2013, but as advocates, we know there’s always room for improvement. As we made our way out of our Thanksgiving-induced food comas, we identified a list of things that we’d be even more thankful for in 2014:

We’d be more thankful if…

Citi Bike received more funding from public and private sources — Elected officials in the Bronx, northern Manhattan and Queens have been calling for Citi Bike’s expansion since the bike share program launched in May, but the blue bikes won’t be docking in those areas anytime soon without additional funding.

Transit commuters had permanent parity with motorists — The deal made last January to avert the “fiscal cliff” included a provision that temporarily matched the pre-tax transit benefit with the parking benefit. This was a big win for transit riders, but it will expire on January 1 if Congress doesn’t soon pass a bill that makes transit equal with parking (and includes a tax benefit for bike share too).

New York City would stop giving away so much free real estate for cars — It’s counter-productive to allocate so much public space to cars without asking vehicle owners to pay at least something for it.

Connecticut highway designers used better guidelines — The Connecticut Highway Design Manual contains outdated and ill-advised guidance that is incongruent with the state’s Complete Streets efforts.

NJ Route 35 had bike lanes and continuous sidewalks — New Jersey has an opportunity to make Route 35 a truly Complete Street, but without bike lanes and continuous sidewalks, this major Shore road will remain an auto-centric thoroughfare that’s unsafe for cyclists and pedestrians, and lacks the redundancy that Superstorm Sandy exposed.

Reckless driving were taken more seriously — After a spate of recent curb-jumpings in New York City, we’ve come to understand that it’s possible to drive a motorized vehicle onto a sidewalk and injure or kill a person and not be charged with a crime.

Connecticut’s vulnerable user bill had passed — The bill, which would have created penalties for careless driving that injures or kills pedestrians, cyclists or highway workers, passed the Senate unanimously, but never received a full vote in the House.

Nassau county increased funding for its bus system — Even though ridership and passenger satisfaction are plummeting, Nassau County’s contribution to its bus system will remain a paltry $2.5 million for a third straight year.

Governor Cuomo signed the lockbox bill — Without an effective lock on dedicated transit funds, the New York’s 130 transit systems will continue to deal with uncertain funding levels.

New Jersey’s elected officials would address the Transportation Trust Fund funding crisis — Governor Christie’s reliance on debt and gimmicks, along with a habit of diverting transportation dollars to plug general fund holes and an absurdly low gas tax, is expected to leave a gaping hole in future budgets.

The NYPD had a better response to pedestrian fatalities than plastering antiquated safety signs — 136 pedestrians were killed and another 11,621 were injured on New York City streets in 2012. If only they had been carrying flashlights.

Rutherford would follow its Complete Streets policy — The Rutherford Borough Council backpedaled on a plan to include bike lanes on Orient Way, a key component of the planned Rutherford Bike Ring.

NYSDOT consistently engaged local communities when addressing pedestrian safety projects – Residents, business groups and local leaders should be involved in the planning of safety improvements on the region’s dangerous roadways, like Nassau County’s Sunrise Highway.

The NYPD improved the way they collect crash data — The NYPD has expressed opposition to providing a crash map, and the data the Department currently provides the public is “garbage.”

Connecticut politicians hadn’t raided the Special Transportation Fund — Just one last raid before lockbox legislation takes effect!