Below, we’ve attached a letter from NFTA Executive Director Kimberley Minkel. We recently spoke to media alongside Assemblymember Karen McMahon and Senator Sean Ryan in support of this bill which we highly encourage you to read and voice your support of as well.
Read the letter below for details and the NFTA’s direct support. Join them in writing an email of your own to your representative to be sure this passes this upcoming session.
Find your NY Assembly representative here:
https://nyassembly.gov/mem/search/
Find your NY Senate representative here:
https://www.nysenate.gov/find-my-senator
Contact:
Kimberley A. Minkel
Executive Director
716-855-7230
www.nfta.com
The NFTA is grateful for the leadership of Member of the Assembly Karen McMahon and Senator Andrew Gounardes, authors of A. 4120/S. 1981, which was referenced in last Friday’s New York Times, and which would create a meaningful and effective mechanism for reaching New York State’s climate goals for reducing Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) within the state. We are pleased to convey our support for this important legislation.
Here is how the proposed law’s mechanism works:
- The sponsoring agency for any highway project which increases capacity, like adding a lane, must be able to demonstrate that this investment supports the state’s VMT reduction goals.
- If this cannot be done, the agency must invest in mitigation measures, like transit.
- If the underlying project and the mitigation measures combined have the net effect of supporting the state’s VMT reduction goals, then the project may proceed.
This thoughtful approach recognizes the interconnectedness of the various modes of New York’s transportation system. This interconnectedness goes beyond the fact that all the modes compete for the same finite resources, as investment in any one mode which results in meaningful benefits for the traveling public induces increased demand in that mode. A highway lane widening, like a subsidized parking ramp, makes driving more attractive and makes the other options, often including transit, less attractive relatively.
Over time, these investment decisions among modes result in land use and development decisions on an individual and a community basis which profoundly influence everything from the landscapes of our cities and towns, to pollution levels, and workers’ average commute times and even community health outcomes. Pivoting away from subsidizing car travel and toward transit and walkability is a key to fighting not just the climate crisis, but also the housing affordability crisis, as households in auto-dependent neighborhoods on average spend 25% of their income on transportation, while persons in neighborhoods with robust transit spend only 9% of their income on transportation, freeing up household resources for housing and other needs.
“Mitigation Banking” mechanisms such as the mechanism anticipated by this legislation have been used effectively by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the area of wetland management, and we certainly look forward to the opportunity to help make this mechanism work in the realm of transportation finance. As Friday’s Times report spelled out, these policies are making a tangible difference in Colorado, and they can have a meaningful and positive impact in the Empire State as well.
Thank you very much for your leadership and your consideration.