Implementing the reforms laid out in the report could accelerate the transformation of New York’s streets to a pedestrian-oriented, climate-resilient network while saving over $1 billion dollars per year;
Report recommends that the New York State Legislature enact legislation that gives the City the tools and authority it needs to improve its capital delivery process, and that the Mayor lead an effort by City agencies, private utilities, and the MTA to create a 3D map of the city’s underground, among other solutions.
New York, NY – At a critical moment for the future of travel, work, and population growth in a changing climate, a new report by Regional Plan Association (RPA) shares a series of new findings on how New York City builds and maintains its right-of-way street infrastructure – above and below ground – and proposes new solutions on how to better repair, upgrade, and integrate these essential systems.
The report, entitled Building Better Streets, offers solutions that could result in savings of over $1 billion dollars a year on capital projects. RPA conservatively estimates that each year of reduction in a project’s timeline can reduce its costs by five percent. With $13.6 billion in expected expenditures spent annually on projects in its four-year capital plan, a two-year reduction in project delays could reduce the cost for the City’s capital projects by 10%, or $1.4 billion per year. Projects within the street right-of-way would save approximately $300 million per year.
“One of the most fundamental aspects of a functioning city is an accessible right-of-way and a dynamic street infrastructure,” said Tom Wright, President & CEO, Regional Plan Association. “We need the City and the State to invest in standardizing and simplifying the processes by which we manage our street infrastructure, at every level. Instead of continuing the status quo of construction projects being delayed for years, and budgets swelling as work slows down, the Adams and Hochul administrations have an opportunity to address our street infrastructure issues head on while reforming a capital delivery process that results in costly delays for all types of capital projects.”
Specific recommendations found within the report include:
The New York State Legislature needs to enact the legislative proposals made by Mayor Adams’ Capital Process Reform Task Force, including giving New York City permanent authority to use alternative project delivery mechanisms and consolidating redundant and outdated procedures.
The Mayor, with the collaboration of private utilities and the MTA, should complete a three-dimensional mapping of underground infrastructure and develop protocols for information sharing.
The City should lead an effort to evaluate benefits and identify potential locations for future utility tunnels that could generate long-term savings for infrastructure installation, maintenance, and operations.
The Mayor’s new Chief of Public Realm Officer should synthesize interdepartmental street planning efforts and promote infrastructure that serves multiple purposes.
The Department of Transportation should be empowered to speed the delivery of certain capital projects, such as protected bike lanes.
The Mayor should develop a unified system for analyzing and improving project delivery.
The report finds that large right-of-way projects currently underway in the City’s capital program are, on average, projected to take 9 years from the start of design to completion of construction, and are projected to take 60% longer than when they were originally budgeted.
New York City also lacks a comprehensive dataset for its subterranean infrastructure, resulting in projects frequently needing to be delayed or re-scoped when unknown site conditions are discovered. Many City-operated data and management systems are outdated and lack the same standards as those expected in the private sector. Infrastructure systems within the right-of-way that are critical to creating an equitable and sustainable city, such as bikeways, broadband, and green infrastructure, face particular challenges.
“The recommendations we laid out in this report offer a roadmap for New York City to rethink and reform its most used, and arguably most critical infrastructure,” said Christopher Jones, Senior Research Fellow, Regional Plan Association. “We know there are more cost-effective and efficient ways to deliver these projects. Without change, it will be impossible to transform the street network with the scale and urgency needed to transform our streets in this age of climate change and technological transformation.”
“Together with the City’s first Chief Public Realm Officer, Ya-Ting Liu, the Adams Administration looks forward to break down bureaucratic siloes to deliver high-quality, more efficient public space projects,” said Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. “Implementation of the Capital Process Reform recommendations, including passage of the package in front of the State legislature, will be key to ensuring New Yorkers get more out of our great City’s public space and infrastructure.”
“Capital process reform is critical for modernizing city streets and greening our infrastructure,” said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. “RPA’s report is a much-needed assessment of the factors that slow project delivery, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Beginning with the rollout of a citywide capital project tracker this year, we call on city and state lawmakers to swiftly enact these recommendations to improve the capital delivery process so we can make the most of every dollar and keep New Yorkers moving safely.”
“It is hardly a secret that the City’s current capital delivery process is not an exemplar of modern government efficiency,” said Mayor’s Office of Policy and Planning Director Sherif Soliman. “We’re hard at work trying to change that by implementing the 39 recommendations from the Mayor’s Capital Process Reform Task Force. RPA has always been a thought leader in advancing solutions on our most pressing issues and its latest report on street infrastructure project delivery elevates solutions on capital reform in a meaningful way.”
