The Empire State Transportation Alliance, a new, encompassing coalition of New York business, environmental, labor and civic organizations, called on Wednesday for an $18.2 billion MTA capital program to boost mobility for metropolitan region employees, consumers and tourists and accommodate future job growth.

The call for a significant increase in transit capital spending is a bold one, but is backed by a powerful, diverse range of constituencies. The very existence of the Empire State Transportation Alliance (ESTA) is strong commentary on the consensus in NY favoring a robust set of transit upgrades alongside the first major system expansion projects in several generations.

ESTA's transit blueprint, prepared by the Regional Plan Association, looks both at needs for continued investment in the existing transit system, and outlines funding that will be required over the next five years to advance tandem construction of a Long Island Railroad-Grand Central Terminal link and a Second Avenue Subway running the length of Manhattan. ESTA's sober examination of the current state of transit and of popular and much-discussed expansion projects will give it a strong role in shaping public debate over MTA capital planning this fall and winter.

The Alliance's initiative comes in advance of the MTA's release of its new capital program, required on October 1 by state law. Observers expect MTA staff to present their plan at the MTA board meeting on September 29. A series of five and six year capital investment programs beginning in the early 1980s has allowed the MTA to bring the subway system back from the ruin of the 1970s. The current MTA capital program amounts to about $12 billion, spent over six years.

The program offered Wednesday features the first major NY transit expansion projects in 50 years. The MTA is widely expected to include significant funding for the LIRR-Grand Central connection in its new plan, but to put off any real funding for the Second Avenue Subway. "We've essentially used up the transportation system built by our grandparents. New York avoids investment in expansion and improvements at its peril," said RPA director Bob Yaro.

Growing consensus around this point, fueled in part by surging transit ridership around the metropolitan region, has led many business groups to back the Empire State Transportation Alliance. ESTA's members include the NYC Partnership, the Long Island Association, the General Contractors Association, the Real Estate Board of NY, the Westchester County Association and the Association for a better New York.

The coalition, which also features transit advocacy campaigners like the Straphangers Campaign, the Transport Workers Union, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense Fund and Tri-State Transportation Campaign, is planning a major public outreach and mobilization effort, likely to include an advertising campaign and other measures to engage a broad segment of the citizenry in the debate over the future of the public transit in New York. After the MTA releases its proposed building program later this month, the parties to the debate will weigh in over the program's contents, scope and funding sources in the effort to win approval by the State Legislature and Governor Pataki. Spokespersons for Governor Pataki and State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver told the Daily News they would review ESTA's plan.

While debate and media attention is already swirling around proposals for a Second Avenue subway (see next page), the assessment of MTA capital needs released by ESTA puts strong emphasis on continuing work to repair subway and commuter rail infrastructure and on important upgrades to key parts of the overall transit system.

System Repair and Normal Replacement
ESTA would direct the bulk of MTA capital spending during the next five years - $10.5 billion of the $18.2 billion total - to the MTA's goal of bringing the entire system to a state of good repair by 2019, and to instituting a normal cycle of replacement for those elements of the system already in good repair.

$6.5 billion of ESTA's state of good repair estimate is for NYC Transit. ESTA expands on likely NYCT funding requests by calling for more emphasis on overhauling and expanding capacity at NYC Transit subway car shops and yards, and for expanded effort to upgrade and repair subway line equipment and structures.

The ESTA plan also provides for a more concerted effort to repair LIRR line structures, but largely concurs with MTA estimates for bringing the commuter rail systems to a state of good repair.

More Subway Cars
ESTA calls for expansion of the subway fleet by 100 new 'B' division cars (lettered subway lines) over the next five years, to provide for four-minute rush-hour headways. The cost of these additional cars is included in ESTA's NYC Transit repair estimate

More and Cleaner Buses
To meet surging peak-period bus ridership, ESTA recommends expanding NYC Transit's bus fleet by 400 and adding two new bus depots capable of handling 200-250 buses each. The new buses and depots, and two depots to be overhauled would feature compressed natural gas (CNG) engines and fueling facilities. Three additional depots would also be outfitted with CNG fueling systems. Buses purchased as part of the normal replacement cycle would also be CNG-powered. ESTA allocates $1.2 billion for this bus program.

Modern Subway Signals and Passenger Information
ESTA recommends that NYC Transit accelerate its efforts to replace its turn-of-the-last-century signal system with modern communication-based-train-control technology, and invest $100 million to develop and begin deploying electronic passenger information systems in its subways and buses. ESTA total: $1.1 billion.

Better Stations
ESTA argues for an accelerated and reformed subway station rehabilitation program that will include incentive contracting, stronger emphasis on improving station accessibility and more community involvement in station design. ESTA cost: $1.6 billion.

Expanding the Transit System
With the transit system on its way to a state of good repair, ridership up and the economy growing, ESTA argues that transit system expansion must become a priority for the MTA. Subways and buses are jammed and tunnel capacity for commuter trains is exhausted. ESTA recommends:

• The LIRR-Grand Central project proceed in tandem RPA's MetroLink plan, which implements a variety of new rapid transit services around the linchpin of a new subway tunnel running under Second Avenue and Water Street. Both projects could break ground in 2003 and be completed in 2012. During the next five years, this timetable would require $1.5 billion for LIRR-GCT and $2 billion for MetroLink.

• The Metro-North Harlem Line Third Track project advance through construction, at a $43 million cost.

• The LIRR Main Line Third Track project complete design and permitting at a $10 million cost. Construction would occur in the following five years.

• A $370 million planning and design fund should be set aside for work on projects such as LaGuardia rail access, the West Shore Line, cross-Hudson rail capacity, and Metro-North access to Penn Station.

In the NYMTC TIP, the MTA has requested $2.4 billion for LIRR-Grand Central, plus $160 million for design and engineering of unspecified projects.

The ESTA blueprint does not raise possibilities for raising the new revenues needed to meet the $18 billion tag. The coalition's focus for now is to stress the region's critical transit needs. Discussion about revenues will naturally ensue as the MTA, the legislature and Governor Pataki take up the debate and react to the ESTA plan. "We are calling on the Governor and legislative leaders to continue the positive record of investment [represented in earlier MTA rebuilding programs]," said Elliot Sander, founder of the Council on Transportation and an ESTA convenor.