Long Island's transportation needs are underfunded

The well-known disparity in state transit aid for Long Island also exists for our needed roadway expansion. The Center for Cost Effective Government conducted an analysis last year which shows that Long Island is woefully underfunded for its transportation needs. For instance, while the Island’s population of 3 million is close to that of Los Angeles and Chicago — and would make it the nation’s third-largest city — funding for those areas dwarfs what is allocated to Nassau and Suffolk counties.

The regional cost disparities are staggering. Funding slated for Long Island's long-range plan includes projects totaling approximately $12 billion, as compared to Chicago's $517 billion and $400 billion for Los Angeles. Philadelphia, with a population half Long Island’s, has long-range projects totaling $84.5 billion, and Atlanta has projected $172 billion.

As for our bus systems, we receive a mere $260 million compared to New York City’s $4.1 billion annually. That’s fifteen times more revenue, despite only three times the population. Los Angeles spends $2.5 billion and Houston can allocate $740 million for a population one-third smaller than ours. While some believe we receive less aid because we have fewer riders, it is far more likely that we have fewer riders because our systems are so woefully underfunded.

The reason for the disparity is that Long Island is under the umbrella of New York City's metropolitan area. When NYC projects are awarded tens of billions of dollars, the window of opportunity for our region is effectively closed. To the federal government, what NYC gets, we all get. Those of us who live here, however, understand the vast differences in our region and know that New York City’s investments — especially when it comes to transportation needs — do not always trickle eastward. The New York Metropolitan Transit Council's 2050 plan created in 2021 shows $49.6 billion allocated for 17 projects in NYC, yet only two projects totaling $979 million are slated for Long Island.

Over the last two decades, four mega projects in New York City totaling more than $25 billion ate up the lion’s share of money for our metropolitan area — the Second Avenue Subway, the World Trade Center Transit Hub, the Hudson Yard redevelopment project, and East Side Access.

While Long Island receives significant funding for the Long Island Rail Road, only 7% of its population utilizes the railroad or city transit on a regular basis. The vast majority of Long Islanders rely on an antiquated road system constructed before the huge population boom. Yet, Metropolitan Transit Council funding for operation and maintenance slants heavily toward transit — $837 billion — as opposed to the $44 billion slated for roadways.

How much better would our traffic flow if we obtained a few billion dollars for extra lanes on the Sagtikos Parkway, Nicolls Road, and Nesconset Highway, as well as the elimination of the Oakdale merge on Sunrise Highway and other needed projects?

Large projects desperately needed for Long Island will only come about if we are able to break away from the city’s shadow and develop our own metropolitan planning organization. Fortunately, State Assemb. Steve Stern is working with the Long Island Contractors Association to designate the Island as its own region so it can obtain the transportation aid for roadway expansion so desperately needed and commensurate with our large population.

The creation of a separate Long Island metropolitan planning organization can’t come soon enough.

This guest essay reflects the views of Steve Levy, executive director of the Center for Cost Effective Government and former Suffolk County executive.