NRDC Unveils Roadmap to Fix Transportation, Cut Pollution, Build Livable Communities in NY and NJ
NRDC Unveils Roadmap to Fix Transportation, Cut Pollution, Build Livable Communities in NY and NJ.
NEW YORK (July 19, 2018) – With dirty air, decaying roads and an outdated transportation network in New York and New Jersey, the Natural Resources Defense Council unveiled a report today highlighting local solutions and key health and transportation facts showing that the region should fix its troubled transportation system.
Waterloo, NY, has one solution to improve rural town life by reducing driving lanes, encouraging walking and connecting new bike lanes to bike trails along a nearby canal. Another solution for the region, New York City has transformed a vacant railroad yard in an area of the Bronx known as “The Hub,” a crossroad for various kinds of public transit, into a development called Via Verde, home to 151 rental units for low-income households.
In addition, New York and New Jersey are among eight Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states committed to having 2.4 million zero emissions vehicles—up from 85,000—on the roadways by 2025, according to NRDC’s report, “Transportation Reimagined: A Roadmap for Clean and Modern Transportation in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Region.”
On the why-transform-transportation side of the ledger, traffic congestion in New York City alone cost the economy almost $34 billion in 2017. Also, 12.8 million people in New York and nine million in New Jersey live in areas that do not meet national air quality standards—so cleaning up the air will reduce respiratory illnesses and help everyone breathe easier.
“New York and New Jersey have a rare opportunity to fix what’s broken and transform the region’s transportation system so it’s healthier, cleaner and works better for everyone,” said Bruce Ho, senior advocate at NRDC and a co-author of the report. “That includes making streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists, improving public transit, expanding clean electric vehicles powered by homegrown renewable energy, and ensuring that the transportation system is more equitable and serves low-income residents. The time is now to invest in the future.”
NRDC released its report in a state-focused telephone press conference.
“U.S. investors and companies strongly support policies that promote a clean and efficient transportation system,” said Carol Lee Rawn, director of transportation at Ceres, who joined the event. “Transportation is the largest contributor to U.S. greenhouse emissions and a critical driver of the economy. The measures outlined in this report — including clean vehicles, strong public transportation systems, and robust pedestrian and cycling infrastructure — provide significant economic benefits as well as critical emissions reductions.”
The report calls for a transportation makeover to reduce climate change, congestion, lost economic opportunities and inequity. It may be useful to help guide a bipartisan coalition of seven governors and the mayor of Washington, D.C., who have committed to developing a regional clean transportation plan.
Their goal is to cut climate-altering carbon pollution from the nation’s largest source—the transportation sector—and follows the successful Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative that has slashed carbon pollution from the region’s power plants.
NRDC’s report calls for: substantially expanding electric vehicles (EVs); encouraging more walkable and bike-friendly living areas; upgrading public bus, train and subway transit; reducing congestion; and addressing rural and low-income communities that are particularly disadvantaged today when it comes to their transportation needs.
Following the roadmap will yield enormous health and environmental benefits. They include generating billions of dollars of economic growth, major job expansion, improved safety and mobility, reduced respiratory illnesses and asthma, and a safer climate.
Last fall, governors in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont and the mayor of Washington, D.C. committed to developing a regional clean transportation plan. So far, the states have held several public listening sessions to gather comments and recommendations on that plan; the next one will be on July 24 in New York City.
NRDC’s report focuses on 11 states and D.C.: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. All are members of the Transportation and Climate Initiative, which has worked to address clean transportation solutions since 2010.
Some regional benefits to developing a cleaner transportation system include:
- Reducing gasoline consumption, saving more than $100 billion by 2035.
- Creating 125,000 new jobs and adding $17.7 billion a year to the region’s economy by 2030.
- Reducing pedestrian and cyclist deaths, which numbered 970 and 115 people respectively killed in 2016.
- Improving air quality and health. Nearly 60 percent—37 million people—in the region live in areas that do not meet national air quality standards for fine particulate matter, ozone pollution, or both.
NRDC’s report offers specific benefits and opportunities for urban, suburban and rural communities:
Rural Communities
- Expanding public transit, providing flexible route bus service and better rapid transit could ease key rural problems. On average rural households spend 7 percent more of their budgets on transportation compared to their urban counterparts. Rural workers travel 38 percent more than urban workers, and rural low-income workers travel 59 percent more.
- Improved mobility options for older Americans can keep them independent, decrease isolation and connect them with medical services.
- Creating walkable, bikeable Main Streets could improve quality of life.
Suburban Communities
- Strategies include improving pedestrian walkways and bike lanes in suburban communities, and linking them to transit corridors.
- Intercity rail should be expanded to help commuters get to their jobs, particularly low-income and service workers. Electrified commuter trains and other infrastructure upgrades could reduce emissions and improve speeds and efficiency.
- Suburban communities should develop more electric vehicle charging stations, which would support transitioning drivers out of gasoline-fueled vehicles to electric vehicles, reducing emissions.
Urban Communities
- Cities should develop more compact, multi-use housing and businesses, walkable and bikeable neighborhoods and improved public transit, all of which could reduce roadway congestion. Today, three of the top 10 most traffic congested cities in the country are in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region: Boston, New York and Washington, DC.
- Cities should ensure development of affordable housing near public transit. This can revitalize vacant parcels, while preventing displacement from gentrification.
- More electric buses and other clean vehicles should be deployed, reducing emissions, making neighborhoods quieter and improving air quality.
- Cities should switch to electric-powered heavy trucks and other equipment at ports, airports, and truck depots to reduce pollution in surrounding neighborhoods, which often are low-income and communities of color.
NRDC calls on local, state and regional leaders to act boldly in designing a 21st century transportation system. Achieving that vision will require new investment in technologies and infrastructure; new policies and funding; and strong political leadership, along with public engagement.
Additional Resources:
NRDC’s report: Transportation Reimagined: A Roadmap for Clean and Modern Transportation in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Region, and more is here: https://www.nrdc.org/
A blog on the report by principal author Bruce Ho is here: https://www.nrdc.org/experts/
A new NRDC video highlighting the report is here: https://www.facebook.com/nrdc.
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The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world’s natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.
