The safety of our state’s roads, bridges, airports, seaports and rail lines is in severe jeopardy.
Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch has released his long-awaited report on New York’s transportation infrastructure. The safety of our state’s roads, bridges, airports, seaports and rail lines is in severe jeopardy, and our state government appears clueless in how to resolve the crisis. The Report notes, “New York State currently lacks the revenue necessary to maintain its transportation system in a state of good repair, and the State has no credible strategy for meeting future needs.”
New York State has failed dismally to maintain a viable transportation network, in almost every way possible.
· We have allowed our seaports to wither away, through a combination of inept government, organized crime corruption, unrealistic union demands, and a misguided belief that waterfront areas are better utilized for luxury uses instead of blue-collar enterprises that produce thousands of jobs. It’s not just that New York was undercut by cheaper alternatives elsewhere on the eastern seaboard; frankly, our state surrendered before the competition even began. This massive loss of what was once New York City’s bedrock industry resulted in an economic decline from which the entire state has never recovered.
· Our airports, controlled by the overpriced and underachieving Port Authority, are rated as the worst in America. LaGuardia Airport, in particular, is an antiquated disgrace.
· While the rest of the nation receives the overwhelming percentage of cargo through rail lines, New York City, through its failure to maintain cargo rail lines, must rely on trucks. This produces both horrendous road congestion and extensive pollution. Allowing private cargo lines to provide increased freight capability could take the expense and burden off taxpayer-funded roads, bridges and tunnels.
· In the earlier part of the Twentieth Century, increasing the subway system allowed the city to grow. In the postwar years, however, the growth of the city in areas such as the eastern section of Queens, Staten Island, and the Northern Bronx were ignored. Indeed, there is less subway service available now than in the past, thanks to the elimination of the elevated lines.
Despite having the highest taxes and some of the highest transportation charges in the nation, New York does not have the resources to address its vital transportation needs.
According to the Report, “Right now, neither the MTA nor DOT has adequate resources to cover both its operating expenses and the level of new borrowing demanded by its proposed capital program. New York, therefore, faces a choice: significantly higher taxes, fees, fares, and tolls or a drastically diminished transportation program that could jeopardize safety and economic well-being.”
That depressing analysis reveals the true nature of the problem. It completely fails to acknowledge, let alone address, the core reasons for the tragic state of our transportation resources.
First, corruption, in its many guises, needs to be rooted out. That includes the usual bouts of politically-connected contractors and organized crime rip-offs, as well as the inexcusable surrender to outrageous union demands. Antiquated provisions such as the “triborough agreement” which increase labor costs must be repealed. The role of politicians attempting to buy votes by acceding to the TWU’s transit-strike blackmail negotiating tactics is despicable. As COMACTA vice president Larry Allison recently noted, “When it comes to the TWU, they don’t work for us, we, apparently, work for them.”
Second, patronage-loaded bureaucracies such as the MTA and the Port Authority need to be totally revamped. In particular, the MTA’s blatant failure to produce honest financial reports is a slap in the face to every New Yorker. Further, the Port Authority’s failure to treat New York State fairly, its complete inability to manage our area airports in a competitive manner, and its own excessive operating costs must come to an end. True privatization must be implemented wherever feasible.
Third, the excessive prevalence of NIMBY (not in my backyard) that slows down ever planning process must be overcome. And finally, environmental regulations that have little to do with actual science and more to do with political pandering need to be re-examined.
New Yorkers cannot afford either higher taxes or higher fares, fees and tolls. We can meet the challenge of establishing a first class infrastructure if we act more honestly and intelligently.
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