Good morning, and welcome to the City Council Transportation Committee's hearing on the Fiscal 2017 executive Budget. My name is Ydanis Rodriguez, and I have the privilege of chairing the Committee. Before we begin I would like to acknowledge chair Ferreras-Copeland and my colleagues here today who are on the Transportation Committee.
Today, we will start by hearing testimony from the City's Department of Transportation. The DOT will be followed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and then, the MTA will be followed by the Taxi and Limousine Commission.
The DOT's Executive Expense Budget for Fiscal 2017 is approximately $947 million. In addition, $3.4 billion is budgeted in Fiscal 2017 for the Department's capital program. I am pleased with the Mayor's funding commitment to maintain our City bridges in good condition, the additional funding of $186 million to repave 1,300 lane miles in Fiscal 2018, funding to increase ferry service, maintain public plazas, expand Select Bus Services (SBS), and implement the BQX Streetcar initiative.
However, I am concerned that the Executive Budget fails to include additional funding for even one of the items the Council has requested in the Preliminary Budget Response. These items include, $2.5 million for the public awareness component of Vision Zero initiative, which has had success with drivers across the city and beyond recognizing the striking ads; $52.4 million additional funding to increase the Street Improvement Projects from 80 to 98 projects annually, allowing the DOT to do smaller scale redesigns that save lives; and $240 million in additional capital funding for street reconstruction, the most proven way to help reach our goal of zero deaths by 2024. Without significantly expanding the number of projects the Department is doing, our collective goal to achieve Vision Zero would be much tougher.
The Council response also included the need to expand the Citi Bike network beyond the affluent areas of our city. We must do our part to make this easily accessible option available to more New Yorkers across the city. I respectfully ask that the city makes a dedicated contribution to this effort by adding city funding, while leveraging possible partnerships to meet expansion costs. Many of my colleagues, disconnected from the great service Citi Bike provides, have issued their support and we are ready to put our money where our mouth is. This network is now much more than a novelty for tourists, it is a public good that should be treated as such and subsidized so that New Yorkers living throughout all five boroughs can use it. Citi Bike provides active transportation that is sustainable and growing safer each day. It's time to commit to this program and spread it across the city as a whole.
At the same time, we asked the administration to be more aggressive in its efforts to create protected bike lanes. We saw a commitment to this effort just last week and I join my colleague Danny Dromm in applauding the administration for its dedication to safety along Queens Boulevard. However, more of these projects mean more capital dollars and unfortunately we did not see the increase requested by the Council. Finally, we are interested in hearing about the Department's plans for expanding SBS services more in line with traditional BRT. We hope the DOT can do feasibility studies on more built out BRT, similar to the plans for the Woodhaven line, particularly in areas with minimal transit options such as the North Shore of Staten Island and Central Queens. I would also like to see more BRT features built into the Bx12 SBS route in my and Council Member Torres' district, a route with one of the highest ridership levels in the city.
We look forward to the Commissioner updating the Committees on the Department's efforts to achieve the City's Vision Zero goals, to maintain and improve the City's roadway infrastructure, in particular, bridges and highways, and pedestrian safety. Additionally, the Department's proposed Capital Budget for Fiscal Years 2016-2020 totals approximately $9.8 billion, an increase of more than $658 million or 7 percent since the Preliminary Plan. We are interested to hear where this funding will be dedicated to and how we can continue to strengthen our aging infrastructure going forward.
Thank you and I now welcome Commissioner Trottenberg to provide testimony on behalf of the DOT...
...Next we will hear from the MTA.
The MTA's calendar year 2016 adopted operating expense budget is balanced and includes approximately $1 billion in City funds. The Authority's proposed 2015-2019 $29.5 billion Capital Program appears fully funded. The Governor and the Mayor committed to provide additional $7.5 billion and $1.8 billion, respectively, to support the MTA Capital Plan. We hope to hear from the MTA on the funding sources and the finalized funding arrangements for the additional commitments. We will also hear from the Authority on other matters of importance, including updates on ongoing projects such as the Second Avenue Subway, East Side Access, and Penn Station Access.
The committees are particularly interested in hearing about how we can continue to manage a ballooning ridership on subways, now reaching historic levels; how we can improve access-a-ride service for the many disabled New Yorkers frustrated with this important need; and, working with the DOT, how we can see expansions in select bus service routes with upgrades that more closely mirror the great BRT systems in cities across the world.
I know welcome testimony from New York City Transit President Ronnie Hakim...
...Following the MTA, We will hear from the Taxi and Limousine Commission. The Commission will discuss their budget, which is projected to be $72.5 million in Fiscal 2017. We would like to hear an update on the Commission's efforts to improve accessibility across all sectors, including black cars and liveries, as well as where we stand on expectations of revenue-if any-for yellow taxi medallion sales and green street hail livery licenses.
Also, we would like to hear about the enforcement of rules and regulations by the Commission, particularly, the enforcement of service refusals and illegal street hails, and any revenue the city can expect from summonses of these violations.
I now welcome testimony from Chair Meera Joshi from the TLC...
