De Blasio Calls On Congress To Increase Transportation Infrastructure Investment
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday called for an increase in federal investment in transportation, as the Thanksgiving holiday travel period began.
The mayor noted in an address Tuesday that with Thanksgiving travel, more and more people are packing planes, trains, and buses – but he said the infrastructure for transportation has been underfunded. He said the lack of investment is to blame for the traffic jams and delays that plague transportation systems around the country.
"For example, in this city, some of these challenges are very, very pointed. For example, in this city, we don't just have a handful of bridges over 100 years old. We have 160 bridges in New York City over 100 years old – that's just one of our challenges. And what we see all over the metropolitan area – the traffic jams, the delays our commuters go through because of aging infrastructure," de Blasio said. "The average New York City commuter spends the equivalent of three days a year stuck in traffic, traffic jams taking up 72 hours of their life each year, largely because the investments haven't been made, particularly on the federal level. "
De Blasio said Washington once led the way in funding mass transit, highways and infrastructure, but such has not been the case for the past 20 years.
"We're spending about 1.7 percent of our gross domestic product as a country on infrastructure," de Blasio said. "You know what? One of our chief rivals, China, spends 9 percent of its gross domestic product on infrastructure – almost five times as much."
De Blasio said the members of the New York City congressional delegation have been "extraordinary" in their advocacy for transportation and infrastructure, but "the Congress as a whole has failed to act and now finds itself at a crossroads."
The mayor said further that a study by the American Society of Engineers said failure to make proper infrastructure investments costs $1 trillion a year in sales, and 3.5 million jobs a year.
"There's two roads – there's really a fork in the road and they have to make a choice. Down one road lies economic growth for this nation, many more jobs, safe and efficient travel; down the other road, more and more delays, more and more danger, and fewer and fewer jobs – it's as simple as that," de Blasio said. "It's a choice that has to be made."
As it is, de Blasio said there is a danger of an $80 million cut to transportation and infrastructure spending for New York City, which would cause delays in subways and numerous other problems.
De Blasio said the bipartisan New York City congressional delegation is unified, along with 72 mayors around the country, in calling on congress to improve funding for transportation.