NYMTC seeks input for transportation plan

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC) is seeking input from the public and businesses into how federal funding should be spent on improving the region’s transportation system over the next 25 years. The Council has launched an interactive website, which it hopes will make it easier for people in the region to share their concerns, provide ideas and feedback and participate in the development of the 2040 Regional Transportation Plan. Input on topics that cover: traffic congestion, transit operations, bicycling and goods delivery and movement, will be offered for local communities, New York City, the lower Hudson Valley, Long Island, and the whole metropolitan region.

When developed, NYMTC’s 2040 Plan will lay out a long-range framework for maintaining and improving the region’s transportation system, including its: roads, bridges, freight, mass transit facilities, and bicycle and pedestrian networks. It will ultimately identify the transportation improvement concepts, projects and policy recommendations that will address the region’s long-term growth challenges and needs; an initial step to bringing federal transportation funding into the area. The NYMTC is a regional council of governments that is the metropolitan planning organization for New York City, Long Island and the lower Hudson Valley, enabling federal transportation funds to flow into the region.

Launching the internet sit, NYMTC executive director, Joel Ettinger, said, “This is a real chance to get involved in planning for transportation improvements in the region for the next 25 years. With billions of dollars at stake, we are launching this interactive website and holding open houses throughout the area to encourage as many people as possible to tell us what transportation issues are on their mind. Please join the discussion; your concerns and issues matter.”

3 August 2012