The NYU Wagner Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management and the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council, in collaboration with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the University Transportation Research Center - Region 2 and other leading organizations will host a timely symposium, “Thinking Bigger: New York and Transportation in the Northeast Megaregion,” on Tuesday, November 13, 2007, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The forum will be held at New York University, Kimmel Center, 60 Washington Square South, 10th Floor, New York, N.Y.
“Our region’s transportation issues do not stop in the middle of the Hudson River or at the Connecticut state line,” said Joel Ettinger, Executive Director of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC). “We must think bigger, because what happens along the entire Northeast Corridor affects New York and vice versa.”
The goals of the event, which will be attended by representatives from Boston through Washington, D.C., are twofold: (1) to foster a better understanding of the relationship between the Northeast Corridor and the broader megaregion and the importance of thinking beyond our own borders; and (2) to begin the discussion of how to address transportation challenges beyond the region that affect New York.
“Up and down the Northeast Corridor, there’s congestion on the rail, the highways, and in the air. There are no easy answers, but one thing is certain — we need to begin planning for transportation differently,” said Allison C. de Cerreño, Director, NYU Wagner Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management. “It’s time to revisit concepts posed more than 40 years ago that urged us to plan beyond our jurisdictional borders for the broader megalopolis.”
The keynote speaker will be Kris Kolluri, Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Transportation and Chairman, NJ Transit. Kolluri will focus on the entire Northeast Corridor and its importance to his state and to the broader region.
Welcoming remarks will be given by Allison C. de Cerreño of the Rudin Center; Jerome Lewis, Director, Institute of Public Administration, University of Delaware; Robert Yaro, President, Regional Plan Association; and Joel Ettinger, Executive Director, New York Metropolitan Transportation Council.
The two panels will consist of the following:
- KEY TRENDS, with Barry Seymour (moderator), Executive Director, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission; Rae Rosen, Senior Economist and Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of New York; George Schoener, Director, I-95 Coalition; Anne Stubbs, Executive Director, Coalition of Northeast Governors; and Petra Todorovich, Director, America 2050, Regional Plan Association.
- WHAT IS TO BE DONE?, with Mark Schweiker (moderator), President and CEO, Greater Philadelphia Area Chamber of Commerce; Paul Bea, Government Relations Advisor, PHB Public Affairs; John Bennett, Chief, Business Strategy, Amtrak; Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Associate Professor, Hofstra University; Mark Strauss, Principal, FXFOWLE Architects; and Lou Venech, Senior Manager of Transportation Policy & Development, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Collaborating sponsors of the conference also include the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter; the Regional Plan Association; University of Delaware’s Institute of Public Administration; and the Wagner Transportation Association.
Reporters (journalists and media) interested in covering the symposium may contact Robert Polner via robert.polner@nyu.edu (212.998 2337) or Carol Wilkinson of New York Metropolitan Transportation Council via cwilkinson@dot.state.ny.us.