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 Jan. 12, 2007 | Vol 6 No. 1 |
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In This Issue: – RPA Regional Assembly to Tackle Climate Change and Energy – Proceed with Caution on Privatization – Less Crowded, More Filling – Calendar Breaking News: - A planning process initiated by RPA in 2003 led to the approval of a transit village redevelopment plan last week in Netcong, NJ. Climate Change and Growth in the Tri-State Metropolitan Region This spring, leaders and policymakers from throughout the metropolitan region will explore this question at the 17th annual Regional Assembly, May 4th at the Waldorf=Astoria. Without answering the question, there are a number of reasons that suggest New York City and the tri-state region must take aggressive action to tackle this challenge. First, ours is North America’s largest urban region, and the global center of media and communications. The policies implemented here can influence actions in the rest of the nation or even the world. California’s recent bold moves to address climate change demonstrate the profound psychological impact that a single place can have in taking the initiative in the absence of federal leadership. Even if the New York region does not inspire the federal government to combat climate change, it can inspire other regions and other states to take initiative, which may eventually build momentum to tackle the problem. Second, the tri-state area contains vast low-lying coastal areas, including much of its urban core, that are particularly vulnerable to flooding and other problems associated with rising sea levels caused by global warming. This dense urban core is also especially susceptible to the urban heat island effect, potentially resulting in thousands, or even tens of thousands, of deaths as demonstrated by recent heat waves in Chicago and Paris. For these and other reasons, unless we act to adapt the region to expected climate change, we will suffer the consequences of inaction. Third, electricity generation and transportation are our greatest sources of carbon dioxide. The settlement patterns and infrastructure systems that lead to our electricity demand and our transportation mode choice are the result of decisions made at the local and regional level. Only with decisions at this level can we build the communities and the infrastructure that will meet our energy needs while reducing carbon emissions. Fourth, in moving to address this issue, New York and its environs can start to move to the forefront of an evolving technological revolution that many feel will be the foundation of the new economy. In short, our region can convert a liability into an asset. It can help transition the last remnants of its rust-belt economy into a new economy, based on helping ourselves and others achieve clean energy and more efficient ways of life. Gaining regional consensus over the need to address climate change will be only half of the battle; the even larger question before us is what we need to do to mitigate our contributions to global warming and to adapt the region to changes that are already underway. This will be the primary focus of this year’s Regional Assembly. How do we meet the energy needs of a modern metropolis without contributing to climate change, social injustice, and environmental degradation? What steps are available to help us reach carbon neutrality? Do our tax and regulatory systems need to be updated to incorporate environmental and social costs? How are green community design and Smart Growth different? And most importantly, why should RPA address this issue? We look forward to continuing this discussion with you at this year’s Regional Assembly, “A Bright, Green Future: Climate Change, Energy, and Growth in the Tri-State Metropolitan Region.” It will take the entire region working together to mitigate the impact of climate change, meet the energy needs of this region, and do so in a way that allows New York City and its environs to remain competitive and livable. Mark you calendars for May 4th, and come and help us address these critical issues. A distributable save-the-date card can be found here. Proceed with Caution But there’s a big problem. Back around 2008, New Jersey leased the Turnpike to a private consortium, and the contract gave the consortium the right to decide how to use the right-of-way. Having made billions off tolls in the high traffic state, the lessee is now reluctant to allow any use that would limit the number of toll-paying cars on the road – unless of course, the state compensates it. It’s not clear what action the state will take but one thing is clear: the state and the people are in a bind, due to a contract signed a generation ago. This scenario is an example of one of many possibilities if the state enters, without significant caution and public discussion, into what is becoming a rage in the transportation community: public private partnerships for toll roads (PPPs). PPPs are not necessarily good or bad. It depends on the structure of the PPP and the details of the contract. PPPs can entail changing toll rates, control of the right-of-way, environmental protections, traffic management and a host of related issues. For example, does the PPP contract encourage or discourage using variable tolling, and how will it impact future traffic management technology? Is there a chance to use a private contract to improve performance and environmental standards? And what is the opportunity cost to the state if it relinquishes its control over the land around the highway? Most toll roads are currently run by public authorities headed by government appointees. Over the last couple years, private firms have started investing in toll roads, and governments are definitely interested. Twenty-one states have passed legislation that allows PPPs for transportation assets such as bridges and roads. Over the last two years, in Chicago and Indiana, a private consortium paid those governments billions of dollars for long-term leases allowing it to collect tolls far into the future. States in this region have yet to pass PPP-enabling legislation and there are no specific proposals on the table, but there is some momentum. Governor Spitzer has expressed an interest in exploring their potential. The state of New Jersey has retained UBS Investment Bank to determine which major state assets are suitable for a PPP. In a November report, UBS put the Turnpike, Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway at the top of the list, along with some non-transportation assets such as the state lottery. In the State of the State address on Tuesday, Governor Corzine said that “asset monetization” – longhand for PPPs – could potentially benefit New Jersey. PPPs can result in a range of private control – from very limited private involvement, to nearly-outright private ownership. And there are plenty of toll roads and highways in the region that might be suitable for a PPP. Before any one deal surfaces, it is important to clarify what issues are at stake and lay down some ground rules. RPA released a white paper on Monday to do just that. The paper focuses on New Jersey highways but can also be applied to New York and Connecticut. RPA is approaching this complex issue by suggesting two basic ground rules: full disclosure and fair expenditures. Full disclosure means involving the public early and often – through legislative hearings, town hall forums, and by disclosing the details of a PPP agreement well before they are finalized. The public needs enough time to understand a PPP agreement and analyze its impact. Advocates, watchdog groups, and professionals can ensure these issues are best addressed if the state adopts a policy of transparency. ‘Fair expenditures’ means spending the proceeds from a PPP – which could be tens of billions of dollars – on debt service and capital programs. For transportation assets, it is also important to adhere to the principle that windfalls realized from revenues now going to the transportation system should be devoted to transportation-related debt and projects. A PPP works because the revenue expected from future tolls can be more valuable to the private sector than to the public – especially if the government is unwilling to commit to a series of toll hikes, and if the private investors can run the highway more efficiently. Redirecting toll money toward other purposes via a PPP would violate the user-pay principle and short-change the transportation system. PPPs are likely to become a big issue for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut in the coming months. Legislators and advocates should avoid an emotional or ideological reaction, and instead begin a patient, steady analysis of all the entailed issues, with plenty of time for public discussion. A PPP could be a boon to the fiscal condition of the state, our transportation network, and to taxpayers, or it could trap future generations in a poorly-written contract that fails to protect the public interest. It’s up to state leaders and the public – including transportation advocates – to look at all the options and make sure we get it right. - Alexis Perrotta, Senior Planner, RPA Virginia Beach and its environs, a place borne in the age of the automobile and where I happened to grow up, is one of the least crowded places on earth in terms of people per square mile. But it sure doesn’t feel that way. Every time I go back to this land of low-density suburbs built around freeways and suburban arterials, I have the feeling of being in a chaotic, confused, and yes, crowded environment that lacks open space, vistas and air. Paradoxical though it may seem, these observations lead me to conclude that how crowded we feel has little to do with how many people are literally around us. Paul Theroux, the famous travel writer, had a piece in The New York Times a few weeks ago that suggested the United States felt more cramped and less leisurely than when the author was a boy simply because there were half as many people then – roughly 150 million instead of the current 300 million. Being an excellent writer, Theroux made one yearn for a more comprehensible and orderly universe. “It is futile to want the old days back, but that doesn't mean one should ignore the lessons of the visitable past – say, when there were half that number of people in the country,” said Theroux in his Dec. 31 Op-Ed. “In some important ways life really was better then because of it.. . . That roomier and simpler America shaped me by giving me and others of my generation a love for space and a taste for solitude.” It’s a strong argument that intuitively makes sense, but which is almost completely wrong. If you look at the places that Theroux idealizes, like his hometown of Medford, Mass., they almost all had more people back then, living in much greater numbers per acre. They lived in smaller homes and apartments, and those homes were closer together than today’s large-lot monsters. Nevertheless, there was a greater sense of space and ease back then, according to Theroux and many other people. How could this be? The answer is that there was a small fraction of the number of cars and far fewer roads and highways to accommodate them. And when people complain about crowding today, they are essentially talking about the abundance of cars. It’s quite telling that Theroux mentions, without further comment, that in Medford “the whole block where I was born – is now buried under Interstate 93.” Theroux apparently doesn’t connect the dots that this freeway had more to do with destroying his hometown’s spirit than any boost in national population. It’s become a truism that we’ve crafted our environment more for cars than the people who drive the cars. But it’s a true truism. Our environments are typically crafted around the dominant transportation systems. The car and the motor speedway have their own inhospitable side effects that have almost become the principal main effects. This subject is important to talk about, because if current growth rates continue, then 100 million or so people will be added to the population of the United States in the next 40 years. If Theroux’s thesis holds true, than life will feel much more crowded, and be worse in quality. RPA, with its America 2050 initiative, argues that we can actually live better than we now do if we plan for those 100 million. This would mean doing things like thinking about appropriate infrastructure, and the way that shapes our overall quality of life. We can build denser communities that accommodate more people, but also more walking, bicycling and transportation choices. The added growth is coming whether we like it or not; the key is planning for it. How crowded our places feel, and how livable they are, is more a function of the choices we make as citizens than the literal numbers of people present. We don’t have to manage how many babies people have; we should manage how we construct the physical environments and public policies that shape our lives. Questions or comments on what’s in this issue? Send them to the editor of Spotlight On The Region, Alex Marshall at alex@rpa.org |
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January 17, 4 – 8 pm January 19, Noon – 2 pm February 6, 13, 20 February 21, 8 am – 4 pm May 4
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Spotlight on The Region A publication of Regional Plan Association, Robert Yaro, President, Alex Marshall, Senior Editor 212-253-2727, x360 alex@rpa.org www.rpa.org |
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