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Stimulus Package on Track to Perpetuate Transpo Status Quo
A front page story in yesterday's Washington Post has the most thorough analysis to date of how infrastructure spending may be divvied up in an Obama stimulus package. Nothing is set in stone, but the dividing lines are increasingly clear: States and their DOTs are emphasizing road projects, while cities are looking for ways to reduce congestion. The emphasis on getting shovels in the ground quickly will also skew spending, says Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak:
December 15, 2008
Q & A With Charles Komanoff on Kheel Plan 2
Today Ted Kheel released a revised version of his plan to fund transit through a congestion pricing mechanism on motor vehicle traffic. Streetsblog spoke to one of Kheel's lead analysts, Charles Komanoff, about the updated plan (see the major components here) and why he believes it offers a more comprehensive answer to New York City's transportation problems than the MTA rescue package unveiled by the Ravitch Commission last week. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
December 10, 2008
Kheel Plan 2 Seeks to Plug MTA Budget Gap
Ted Kheel and his band of transportation analysts are releasing an updated version of their low-cost transit proposal, which they are pitching as an alternative to the Ravitch Commission's MTA rescue package. The revised Kheel Plan retains the original's congestion zone cordon, charging vehicles to drive into Manhattan below 60th Street. The major twist is that drivers and subway riders would be charged variable-rate fees depending on the time of day (straphangers would only pay a fare during the morning and evening peaks).
December 10, 2008
Weiner’s Transit Plan: [This Space Intentionally Left Blank]
Minutes after the Ravitch plan press conference wrapped up this afternoon, Anthony Weiner held court (briefly) on the sidewalk outside the state office building on 41st Street and Third Avenue. Here, in bullet point form, are some choice quotes from the man who would be the next mayor of New York:
December 4, 2008
More on the Ravitch Commission’s MTA Fix
Brad hit the major points from today's Ravitch/Paterson/Bloomberg press conference. Here are some more details on the MTA rescue plan they unveiled. (The whole Ravitch Commission report is available as a PDF.)
December 4, 2008
Ravitch Unveils Broad MTA Rescue Package
Former MTA chief Richard Ravitch stood with Governor David Paterson and Mayor Michael Bloomberg this morning to discuss details of his commission's plan to keep the cash-starved MTA afloat both in the short-term and in years to come. Streetsblog's Ben Fried attended the news conference and will have more later. For now, here are a few highlights:
December 4, 2008
Pols Skeptical Ahead of Ravitch Report Release
The much-anticipated report from the Ravitch Commission is scheduled to be released within the hour. The report is expected to include recommendations for an eight percent increase in transit fares along with tolls on East River and, possibly, Harlem River bridges -- measures deemed necessary to avert the MTA "doomsday" scenario of a 23 percent fare hike and massive service cuts. And yet, in this morning's media coverage, we couldn't find one quote from a politician other than Governor David Paterson who was willing to keep an open mind on the idea of new bridge tolls.
December 4, 2008
Kellner to Ravitch: Don’t Bother Proposing East River Bridge Tolls
Add Micah Kellner's name to the MTA doomsday scorecard. Yesterday, the Upper East Side Assembly member came out in favor of increasing license and registration fees for New York drivers as a transit revenue booster.
December 2, 2008
Brodsky: Assembly “Working to Find Partners” for MTA Funding
Last week we e-mailed a short list of questions about the MTA financial crisis to Assembly Member Richard Brodsky. Here are his responses, received yesterday, shortly after we posted our "doomsday" scorecard.
November 26, 2008