Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Kate Slevin and I am Executive Vice President of Regional Plan Association, a 100-year-old, non-profit research, planning, and advocacy organization that works to improve quality of life for the 23 million residents in the New York City metropolitan area.
For decades, we have advocated for spending infrastructure funds in a manner that supports health, equity, prosperity and sustainability, the values that drive our work. We have written extensively about infrastructure investment, including the release of a detailed research paper a few weeks ago that highlights how municipalities and states can direct funding to promote health equity. We cite projects from across the country, including the removal of the Rochester Inner Loop and the construction of a network of soccer fields near transit stations in Atlanta.
The Council should take a fresh look at how Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funds are being spent by the State - while the City will get some funds directly, many vital decisions will be made at the State level. If projects don’t align with health equity and environmental justice outcomes, they should be reevaluated. For example, widening highways simply causes more traffic in the long term - a situation called induced demand - so building bigger highways is both a waste of taxpayer money, and likely to hurt public health.
New York State received about $27 billion in federal funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act - we are grateful for the funding and to our delegation to help secure it. IIJA includes both formula funds, or state-by-state allocations based on a predetermined formula, and competitive grants. Formula funds include:
$11.6 billion for highways
$1.9 billion for bridges
$9.8 billion for transit
$2.6 billion for water infrastructure
$685 million for airports
$100+ million for broadband infrastructure
New York State also has a chance to apply for about $100 billion in competitive grant programs, including Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE), Capital Investment Grant (CIG), Active Transportation and many others. The State and City should apply to as many competitive grant programs as possible.
With all the investment in transit, the IIJA is still the biggest investment in highways and roads since the Interstate Highway Bill. Without smart decisions by states and municipalities, much of this money could be spent on highway projects that do not align with state equity or climate goals.
The good news is that much of the highway money is flexible, and can be used for projects that support public transportation, cycling, and walking. For example, the National Highway Performance Program can be used for greenways or cycling projects near highways, or to cap or remove highways. We are happy to meet with Council about creative uses for specific programs, and Transportation for America has facts sheets that explain how highway federal funding can be used for public transit (operating and capital), rail projects, complete streets, and electric vehicle infrastructure.
New York State must take advantage of this flexibility!
The Council should ask that these highway funds be directed to projects like capping the Cross Bronx Expressway, narrowing and reducing the impact of the BQE Triple Cantilever, and building out the downstate greenway network.
Other worthy projects that should benefit from formula transit and Amtrak funds include the 2nd Ave Subway, resignaling the subways, building the Interborough Express, a new transit line connecting Brooklyn and Queens, the Gateway Program, the purchase of EV buses, among many others.
However, there are still lingering projects in the state capital program that do NOT align with climate and equity goals and should be scrutinized by the Council. These include the widening of the Van Wyck Expressway in Queens and expanding I-86 in Orange and Rockland Counties. Larger projects in other parts of the state mean fewer resources for projects in denser, more populated areas.
We are happy to work with all of you on the shared goal of ensuring the state’s infrastructure investment promotes health, equity and sustainability.
Thank you so much for your time.
