Yesterday we discussed the many policy developments we’re thankful for. Today, we’re stuffed with turkey (and tofurkey) and can barely move, which has given us plenty of time to consider how far the region has to go towards a balanced transportation network. We are definitely still thankful, but we’d be more thankful if…

Congestion pricing opponents looked at the data instead of propagating myths. When asked to back up assertions that congestion pricing will hurt business, or that an alternative plan would do more to reduce traffic, the best congestion pricing opponents can produce are slim, un-footnoted reports premised on bad math and faulty assumptions. These are, by and large, intelligent people who we happen to respectfully disagree with. So why is it that so many of the reports backing up their arguments wouldn’t pass muster in the average college class?

The MTA created a transit village program. MTA representatives have said it’s too early for a transit village program because transit-oriented development in the region is “at an embryonic stage.” What we’ve seen on Long island and in the lower Hudson Valley is plenty of smart projects completed and in planning, and a ton of enthusiasm for smart growth. If that’s embryonic, it’s the most precocious embryo we’ve ever seen.

The MTA enacted variable tolling on its bridges and tunnels. Charging drivers more at peak hours has been proven to reduce peak-hour congestion and is not a new concept. The Port Authority’s doing it. The NJ Turnpike Authority is doing it. So, again… where’s the MTA?

The New York State Legislature stopped holding NYC back. Congestion pricing. The solid waste management plan. Bus lane cameras (and more red light cameras). All three would do wonders for New York City, if only Albany would pass them.

NJ had money for transportation funding beyond 2011. Whoever coined the term “trust fund baby” to refer to the rich, young, and obnoxious must not have heard of New Jersey’s Transportation Trust Fund. In four years the fund, which was designed to be a sustainable source of transportation dollars, will be using all of its dedicated revenue for debt payments. Is Gov. Corzine’s mystery “asset monetization” plan the solution, or just the next chapter in the state’s history of kicking the debt can down the road?

The NJ Turnpike and Garden State Parkway widening projects were collecting dust. A good place for them would be a forgotten shelf in a locked back room in the NJTA’s Woodbridge office. New Jersey needs $8 billion to repair its bridges and is $32 billion in debt. So why is the state still pursuing a $2 billion, nonessential Turnpike project and a GSP widening project that, according to its own data, won’t alleviate congestion?

The Sheridan Expressway was torn down and replaced with residences and parkland. Hopefuly the long delay in the Bruckner-Sheridan Interchange environmental review process is because NYSDOT has been giving hard thought to the unconventional wisdom, as proven in Milwaukee and San Francisco, that tearing down a highway can be a way to improve a community’s quality of life — and won’t exacerbate traffic.

NYC got its parking policy straight. To its credit, NYC replaced car parking with bike parking for the first time in its history. . But it also allowed the Yankees to build a stadium with more parking than the old one (despite having less seats and a new Metro-North station), and then tried to get NYSDEP to allow up to 40,000 more parking spaces in the far West Side. And the city would gain a ton of street cred with advocates and the public if it would only reform parking placard abuse.

We plan to hit the ground running on Monday. As this list reminds us, we have a lot of work to do (and plenty of calories to burn).