Transportation Alternatives: T.A. Magazine Article: $23 Million for NYC Bicycling and Walking Projects: Good News, But Federal Grants Marred by Worthless Pork

July/August 1995, p.6

$23 Million for NYC Bicycling and Walking Projects
Good News, But Federal Grants Marred by Worthless Pork

Officials have approved $23 million for new cycling and walking projects in New York City in 1996 and 1997 as part of the federal Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality program (CMAQ). The vote is a victory for Transportation Alternatives, which worked hard for valuable bike and pedestrian improvements.

Unfortunately, however, the government agencies that selected the projects lacked a clear vision or set of priorities. For example, the Department of Transportation's bicycle and pedestrian program received funding, though only at about 709% of the necessary level, while a program to pay Transit Authority workers to use their free subway passes gobbles up hundreds of thousands of dollars. The program also calls for a mixed bag of greenways and traffic calming projects.

In the end, millions of dollars that could have helped transform NYC into a more livable, less motorized place are to be spent on wasteful and conservative projects that fad to mitigate traffic congestion or improve air quality.

Bike/Ped Get Only 16% of Clean Air Dollars

While $23 million might sound like a lot of money, it is only 16% percent of the $142.7 million available for congestion relief and clean air projects. If the City wants to make New York an attractive place to bike and walk, it needs to spend more than $1.50 per citizen each year on cycling, traffic calming and walking.

Despite the City's permanent budget crisis, federal clean air money is available to fund more cycling and walking improvements like those listed below. What's missing is the political will to spend it the right way, instead of on unnecessary projects like computerized signs on the George Washington Bridge or electric cars for City bureaucrats.

State and City DOT have spent too much time horse trading with the MTA and too much energy on the distorted idea that air can be made cleaner by increasing road capacity. It is time the City and State figured out that more capacity means more driving, which means more pollution. Still T.A. is happy to report the good news below.

Bike and Ped Projects Funded for 1996/97

Citywide	Amount	Pays For
The DOT Bike Program	$3.75 Million	Planners to design bike projects and push them through the bureaucracy, and for the traffic analyses needed before bike lanes can be installed, and for installing bike racks, signs and lanes. Should have received at least $5.6 million for two years.
The DOT Pedestrian Program	$4.25 Million	Planning for traffic calming and pedestrian improvements in NYC. Should have received $8 million, independent of the CB 2 project below. The program's lack of money for its own traffic engineers are crippling the City's traffic calming efforts.
Bronx
Mosholu/Pelham Greenway	$2 Million	Extension of the bikeway to Orchard Beach and City Island.
Brooklyn
Waterfront Trail	$950,000	Bike path along the waterfront from Brooklyn Heights to Red Hook. A nice idea, but not very useful for transportation.
Manhattan
CB 2 Traffic calming	$1 Million	Undefined project included in ped program above.
Columbus Circle	$900,000 Redesign	Ped friendly? More cars? Not clear.
East River Esplanade	$4.25 Million	Pedestrian and bike paths along the river from South Street Seaport to East River Park.
Harlem Beach Esplanade	$1.25 Million	Another waterfront esplanade, this time uptown.
Lower Manhattan Ped.	$1.75 Million	Department of City Planning project to create network of car-free ped streets near Wall Street.
Riverside Walk, 83 St.-91 St	$1.25 Million	Continuous off-street bike/ped route along the Hudson from 72 St. to 122 St.
Stuyvesant Cove	$275,000	More waterfront work. Nice, but should not get traffic reduction/clean air money.
Staten Island
Greenbelt bike path	$1.75 Million	Bike paths through the Island's network of parks.
Rail Trail	$625,000	Department of City Planning project to create a waterfront path on the north shore of the Island.
Queens
Downtown Flushing	$1 Million	Downtown Flushing pedestrian project to improve sidewalks and link three downtown areas.

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