NEW YORK, NY – The Regional Plan Association (RPA), Tri-State Transportation Campaign (TSTC) and transit advocates released a series of neighborhood-specific fact sheets demonstrating the major benefits public transit users will see in their neighborhoods if the MTA’s “Fast Forward” plan is fully funded at a press conference at Penn Station today.
As public transit continues to fail New Yorkers and gridlock chokes New York City’s streets, advocates demanded elected officials support congestion pricing as part of a comprehensive package to fund the MTA’s “Fast Forward” plan. With the governor’s inclusion of congestion pricing in his annual budget, the focus turns to the Legislature.
“Through meetings throughout the summer and fall, elected officials and riders were eager to know what congestion pricing would do for their specific districts or neighborhoods,” said Kate Slevin, Senior Vice President of State Programs and Advocacy at Regional Plan Association. “We hope these fact sheets show that tangible, localized benefits will result if we invest more in public transportation.”
Standing alongside RPA and TSTC were members of the Fix Our Transit coalition, New York League of Conservation Voters, riders and advocates who called on their elected leaders to support congestion pricing or face their constituents and explain why they refuse to find a solution to our crumbling public transit and congested streets.
“The status quo for public transit riders is broken,” said Nick Sifuentes, Executive Director of Tri-State Transportation Campaign. “The governor knows how important fixing our subways and buses is, and that’s why he made congestion pricing a top priority in his budget. Now, we’re showing how millions of New Yorkers will benefit if the legislature funds the MTA—and what we’ll lose if they don’t.”
The series of 19 fact sheets, created by RPA and TSTC, show the planned benefits congestion pricing and full MTA funding will bring to specific neighborhoods throughout New York City, showing riders what to expect if the Governor and State Legislature enact congestion pricing—and what they’ll miss out on if their elected officials fail to act.
The fact sheets can be found on the RPA or TSTC website or via this direct link.
