LI does not need its own transportation planning group
Commuters arrive at the Long Island Rail Road’s Ronkonkoma station, part of the region’s transportation infrastructure. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
This guest essay reflects the views of Adam S. Levine, executive director of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council.
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Council directs the use of billions of dollars in federal funds to facilitate transportation projects in its region, which includes Long Island, New York City, and the counties of Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam.
A new push that includes state legislation introduced late last year seeks to end the NYMTC's involvement in Long Island and replace it with a Long Island-only council, claiming that Long Islanders are not getting their fair share of federal transportation dollars due to New York City’s exorbitant needs. Comparisons have been made to other metropolitan areas as well, stating that these locales receive far more funding per capita than Long Island.
That is incorrect.
The federal funding process requires that metropolitan planning organizations like ours develop near-term and longer-term projects and studies to ensure that thoughtful consideration is given to the best allocation of federal funds. Near-term activities include projects from 2023 to 2027. Longer-term projects and studies extend from 2022 to 2050.
Federal funds flow from the U.S. Department of Transportation to New York State and then to Long Island through congressional appropriations by formula. The remainder comes through discretionary programs. These formula funds account for just over one-third of total transportation spending on Long Island. Remaining funds come from state and local resources where NYMTC is not involved.
In our research, we compared Long Island’s funding with Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and New York City because they have been mentioned by proponents of a Long Island-based council.
On a per capita basis, annual federal formula funding in these five regions ranges from $138 to $207 per capita. Long Island’s per capita funding sits well within this range at $166.
On the near-term transit side, Long Island far outpaces four of these metro areas, netting $86 annually per capita, compared with a range of $33 to $65 for the other areas. Even combining rapid transit, commuter rail and bus systems, Long Island receives far more funding per capita for the Long Island Rail Road and suburban bus systems. Understandably, New York City receives more federal transit funding per capita at $131, given its subway and bus ridership and service levels — the highest in the country. On the highway side, Long Island receives $80 per capita, more than 20% higher than New York City’s formula highway funding of $66.
Our research also indicates that per capita annual funding for longer-term projects in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Atlanta ranges from $416 to $1,203. Long Island’s per capita figure is far ahead at $1,706, only outpaced by Chicago at $1,881 per capita.
It is also important to consider the cost implications of creating an entirely new metropolitan planning organization for Long Island. Our analysis estimates that at approximately $8 million per year.
Already, all decisions on federal funding for Long Island transportation are being made by Long Islanders — Nassau and Suffolk’s county executives, and representatives from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Hauppauge office of the New York State Department of Transportation, come together in agreement on every federal dollar spent.
Our decades of experience as Long Island’s metropolitan planning organization have been dedicated to maximizing the federal dollars the Island receives while eliminating any need to spend millions on its own council. In all respects, it is a win-win for Long Island.
This guest essay reflects the views of Adam S. Levine, executive director of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council.
