LET’S GO A Case for Municipal Control and a Comprehensive Transportation Vision for the Five Boroughs NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL SPEAKER COREY JOHNSON MARCH 5, 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................6 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................................................. 8 A Vision for Municipal Control ................................................................................................................................................ 8 GOVERNANCE: .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 FINANCES: ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 8 Increasing Accessibility........................................................................................................................................................... 9 A Master Plan for City Streets ................................................................................................................................................ 9 TO IMPROVE BUS SERVICE: .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 9 TO CREATE LIVABLE STREETS: ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 TO ENCOURAGE SAFE, SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION: ..................................................................................................................................... 10 TO REDUCE CONGESTION: ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 10 TO ADDRESS CLIMATE ADAPTATION: .......................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Rethinking the BQE ............................................................................................................................................................... 10 WHY TRANSPORTATION? ...................................................................................................................... 11 COMMON MODES OF TRANSPORTATION IN NEW YORK CITY..................................................................................... 13 BETTER TRANSIT MEANS A BETTER NEW YORK ........................................................................................................... 14 Better Transit is Better for the Economy .............................................................................................................................. 14 A More Fair City ..................................................................................................................................................................... 15 A Safer City ............................................................................................................................................................................ 15 A Greener New York .............................................................................................................................................................. 16 HOW WE GOT HERE ............................................................................................................................... 17 THE SUBWAY ....................................................................................................................................................................... 18 Early Mass Transit Policy ...................................................................................................................................................... 18 The Need for Great Expansion.............................................................................................................................................. 19 Completion of the Dual Systems and the Rise of the IND .................................................................................................. 21 Unification of the System ...................................................................................................................................................... 22 Post-World War II: Rise of the Automobile and the New York City Transit Authority ........................................................ 22 Fiscal Crisis ............................................................................................................................................................................ 24 A Lack of Focus and Investment .......................................................................................................................................... 25 Recent History: Another Slow Decline ................................................................................................................................. 25 SUBWAY ACTION PLAN .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 26 ACCURACY OF PERFORMANCE STATISTICS .............................................................................................................................................................. 28 A CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE – THE L TRAIN SHUTDOWN ............................................................................................................................................. 29 LOCAL TRANSPORTATION POLICY ................................................................................................................................... 30 A VISION FOR MUNICIPAL CONTROL ..................................................................................................32 GOVERNANCE ...................................................................................................................................................................... 33 Table of Contents 2 What’s Not Working ............................................................................................................................................................... 33 STRUCTURE OF THE MTA ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 33 MTA BOARD ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 34 Recommendation: Establish Big Apple Transit—the BAT ................................................................................................... 35 TRANSFER CONTROL OF THE SUBWAY AND BUSES TO THE CITY ......................................................................................................................... 35 BUILDING A BETTER BOARD .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 35 MOBILITY CZAR ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 36 REGIONAL COOPERATION ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 36 OVERSIGHT ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 37 FISCAL TRANSPARENCY .................................................................................................................................................... 37 What’s Not Working ............................................................................................................................................................... 37 UNSUPPORTED DEBT AND CAPITAL ............................................................................................................................................................................. 37 DISTRACTED AND UNFOCUSED CAPITAL PLANNING PROCESS ............................................................................................................................ 38 Recommendation: Model BAT’s Structure on the City’s Water System ............................................................................ 39 ENSURE ADEQUATE FUNDING ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 40 OUTSIDE REVIEW