HR&A Advisors, Inc. (HR&A) conducted this economic analysis of the Move New York Plan, a transportation policy proposal for New York, in March 2014.* HR&A
relied on prior research regarding the economic impacts of congestion and traffic
pricing in New York and internationally, and on the transportation model outputs
from the Balanced Transportation Analyzer (BTA) developed by Charles Komanoff.
HR&A adapted findings from previous studies, specifically the December 2006 Growth or Gridlock? report from the Partnership for New York City. HR&A took every effort to update the findings of the Growth or Gridlock? report using current economic and transportation data, but did not develop an independent economic modeling effort in this assessment.
Following decades of disinvestment, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
(MTA) had fallen into disrepair by the late 1970s. In 1981, New York State approved the establishment of the MTA Capital Program, a vehicle that has sustained over 30 years of large-scale regional infrastructure investment, reversing years of decline and neglect, and repositioning the MTA network as the
metropolitan region’s key asset.
In order to address its emerging challenges – changing mobility patterns, climate
change, and system-wide crowding – New York State must commit to sustained
capital investment in the MTA. Support for the recently-proposed 2015-2019 MTA
Capital Program remains elusive, placing livelihoods and the economy of the
metropolitan region at risk.
New revenues from the Move New York Plan offers an approach to addressing the MTA’s funding gap and fully fund the 2015-2019 MTA Capital Program.
OVERVIEW
HR&A analyzed the economic and fiscal impacts to New York State (NYS) and New York City (NYC) that would result from implementation of the Move New York Plan, a transportation policy proposal for New York City.
This analysis is based on prior research on the economic costs of congestion to
the New York City metropolitan economy, and relies on outputs from the BTA, a transportation model developed by Move New York.
RESULTS
30,500 more jobs
$2.8 billion annual economic output
$168 million annual tax revenues to NYS and NY