The NYU Wagner Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management, and the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council will hold a conference Wednesday, June 4, 2008, at New York University called “Closing the Gap: Financing the Region’s Transportation Needs.” Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell will deliver the keynote speech, while the conference will also feature NYC DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan; MTA Executive Director and CEO Elliot Sander; NJ Transit Executive Director Richard Sarles, and New York State Deputy Secretary of Economic Development and Infrastructure Timothy Gillchrist, among other leaders in transportation.
The focus of the gathering is the national crisis gaining momentum as the country’s transportation capacity requirements continue to be outpaced by the ability to find long-term and sustainable funding sources. The revenue is needed to ensure that transportation infrastructure, from roads and bridges to railways and airports, are maintained in good repair, that they are replaced and updated on time, and that capital expansion and operating needs are fulfilled to accommodate increasing demand.
As the funding gap grows to crisis proportions, states and municipalities have begun exploring new financing mechanisms, including public/private partnerships, congestion pricing, user fees, and other alternatives. However, according to Allison L. C. de Cerreño, Director of the NYU Wagner Rudin Center, the critical issue is finding the political will to make the difficult choices. “Everyone agrees that something needs to be done; the problem is nobody wants to pay,” she said.
The conference will explore how we arrived at this critical stage, what it means for the New York metropolitan region, and how we might address this crisis as we seek to improve and expand our regional transportation system.
- WHAT: “Closing the Gap: Financing the Region’s Transportation Needs,” sponsored by the NYU Wagner Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management, and the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council.
- WHEN: Wednesday, June 4, 8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. (breakfast and registration, 8:00 a.m.)
- WHERE: New York University, Kimmel Center, Rosenthal Pavilion, 60 Washington Square South, 10th Floor, New York, N.Y.WHO: Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (keynote), and panelists Charles Brecher, Professor, Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service; Anne Canby, President, Surface Transportation Policy Partnership; Mortimer Downey, Chairman, PB Consult; Emil Frankel, Director of Transportation Policy, Bi-Partisan Policy Center; Timothy Gilchrist, Deputy Secretary, New York State Economic Development and Infrastructure; JayEtta Hecker, Director, Physical Infrastructure Team, US GAO; Elliot Sander, Executive Director and CEO, Metropolitan Transportation Authority; Richard Sarles, Executive Director, NJ Transit; Charles Russell, Technical Director, Steer Davies Gleave, London; Martin Wachs, Director, Transportation, Space, and Technology, RAND Corporation.
- ONLINE REGISTRATION: https://wagner.nyu.edu/rudincenter/conferences.
Media Coverage is invited.