Daly Says NY Job Creation Number One Priority
NY Transportation Commissioner John Daly was in the Hudson Valley on April 11th to address Scenic Hudson's board and invited guests on Stewart Airport. Ironically for a Pataki Administration commissioner, the Commissioner's basic philosophy seems to be to run the Dept. as a public works and jobs program. He said that "job development was of utmost importance to this administration," and therefore he would use DOT's capital program to improve the economic climate. For Stewart, a potentially large Hudson Valley traffic generator, that means "to ignore a New York State infrastructure facility with more development potential would be shortsighted and stupid." In response to questions about privatization of the airport, Daly said that while the subject certainly would be explored, he didn't expect anything to be done on it for some time to come. In New Jersey, primary emphasis in Whitman Administration promotional materials on renewal of the Transportation Trust Fund is on the direct job creation benefits of the transportation capital plan. Despite the Republican revolution, the DOTs still clearly have strong roles other than provision of appropriate, environment-friendly and efficient transportation services and infrastructure. Is the massive region-wide highway widening program being carried out to rationally meet mobility, access and environmental goals, or to satisfy other interests and political needs?
