Leading candidate for governor of New York Elliot Spitzer delivered a speech on transportation Friday far more detailed than most candidates for high office generally make.  Spitzer whittled the list of big downstate infrastructure projects to three top priorities and pointed to a number of planning and institutional reforms long sought by reformers.  He gave the speech at the Regional Plan Association’s annual conference in Manhattan. 

   Spitzer said his top three project priorities are the first segment of the Second Avenue subway, connecting the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central and replacing the Tappan Zee Bridge.  In perhaps the most strident portion of the speech, Spitzer also closely linked the benefits of the LIRR-Grand Central connection to construction of the LIRR Main Line 3^rd track project, currently part of the MTA capital program.  Spitzer said “parochial interests” were blocking the project.  The 3^rd track project has been subject to a vociferous NIMBY campaign in Nassau County, and Long Island State Senators have attached special conditions to its progress. 

   Spitzer was more circumspect about other big projects on the New York planning scene.  He said he supported the extension of the #7 subway line to the far West Side of Manhattan, but made clear that funding it was city government’s responsibility.  Of the LIRR link to lower Manhattan hatched after September 11 and the long-discussed freight rail tunnel, Spitzer’s position was essentially “let’s finish the environmental studies.” 

   Spitzer made one of his most important points in discussing the new commuter rail tunnel from New Jersey to Manhattan.  He stressed increasing cooperation between New York and NJ on transportation issues, but said his support for Port Authority funding for the project would depend on “an equivalent level of funding for a comparable New York project of regional significance” such as Second Avenue or the LIRR-Grand Central connection.  Port Authority funding on the order of $2 billion – the discussed PA contribution to the New Jersey rail tunnel -- would be a huge shot in the arm for the big MTA projects, since the 2005-2009 MTA capital program is not fully funded and currently receives no funding from the Port Authority. 

   Spitzer’s remarks on planning and institutions pointed clearly in the direction of major reform.  He called for “incentives for counties and towns to ensure that land use and transportation planning are integrated…smart growth involves a planning process with a vision of what we want our communities to look like in a few years’ time, and then thinking comprehensively about the housing, commercial development, transportation and environmental infrastructure needed to make that vision a reality.”   He declared that “For much of their history, organizations such as the MTA, the Port Authority, New York State’s own Transportation Department and the Thruway Authority were world-class leaders in their field.  Sadly, this is no longer the case…We’ll appoint individuals to executive and board positions based on professional excellence and experience, not patronage.  We’ll create a downstate transportation cabinet that assures that all the agencies are coordinating their initiatives and integrating their respective transportation networks.”

   Other elements in the address were:

·    Spitzer’s stated that his greatest immediate transportation concern is “the projected $900 million MTA operating budget deficit in 2009.”  He blamed the situation on over-reliance on debt and said the state would have to wean itself from its borrow-and-spend habit.

·    Support for bus rapid transit and better connections in the region. He mentioned through trains between NJ Transit and LIRR and a Staten Island bus connection to the Hudson-Bergen light rail.

·    A promise for a 90-day review upon taking office of transportation and law enforcement agency plans related to safety, with a view to accelerating the decline of vehicle and pedestrian crashes. 

Text of the address is posted at www.spitzer2006.com.

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