4 ms·
Arguably the whole metro New York area should be reorganized under one government.
by erentz 10y ago
Arguably the whole metro New York area should be reorganized under one government.
- apaprocki 10y agoWell, when you speak of bridge/tunnel crossings between NJ/NY, it quasi-is: http://www.panynj.gov/ http://www.panynj.gov/
- scott_s 10y agoExcept that one of the bridges in this article, the Tappan Zee, was built where it was for the express purpose of keeping it out of the jurisdiction of the Port Authority. This was done so that the revenue from tolls could go to the New York State Thruway Authority, and not the Port Authority. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tappan_Zee_Bridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tappan_Zee_Bridge.
- Pxtl 10y agoAsk Toronto how that worked out for them. Hint: The suburbs took over the mayor's office and Toronto got and loud, angry crack-addled car-traffic obsessed mayor.
- simonbarker87 10y agoToronto has some of the worst traffic I've ever experienced anywhere. The drive from Toronto to Guelph at 2pm on a Wednesday (i.e. A time that is not peak) was nose to tail for the first 20 miles. The whole drive took just under 2 hours and apparently that's considered pretty normal. It's 58 miles!
- Retric 10y agoD.C. area traffic is so bad I once felt stupid for taking 66 at 6pm then I realized it was Saturday.
- closeparen 10y agoA 30mph average is excellent compared to bicycling or mass transit.
- Pxtl 10y agoThe disastrous state of our expressways and commuter rail are provincial responsibility - the mayor is in charge of in-city roadways and transit. The 401 and QEW are a disaster though, I agree. Mississauga and the rest of the Western GTA sprawl are the worst-case example of how induced demand can ruin a roadway.
- slededit 10y agoThe Gardiner Expressway is managed by the city, as is the DVP. So not all expressways are provincial.
- jowiar 10y agoThis problem is even worse in DC. "Local" policy is effectively a multilateral treaty negotiation. ~5 counties, 2 states, the District, and Congress.
- Spooky23 10y agoThat would be the end of NYC. The inherent tension between NYS and NYC is one of the things that makes the city so powerful. Changing the dynamic to a North Jersey/Westchester/Rockland/Long Island/NYC block would kill the city. Hopefully some events tip the political scales, as the open hostility of the Federal government will cause irreparable harm.
- umanwizard 10y agoCan you elaborate on why you think this is the case?
- Spooky23 10y agoSuburban interests are usually not aligned with the needs of an urban environment, and smaller administrative units always resist and win against consolidation efforts. Everything from patronage, NIMBY, well-run local governments to outright racism are factors. For residents, it's typically easier to deal with a village or town hall type entity than trying to navigate the bureaucracy of NYC municipal government. Maintaining things like school districts, towns, villages and special districts will always be local priorities that always win against regional initiatives. You probably have 50 police departments alone just on Long Island, with at least 50 collective bargaining agreements that would need to be consolidated and dealt with. That's 50 police chiefs who need jobs, and thousands of generously paid policemen who would need to integrate with a larger and less generously paid NYPD. You'd have the same situation with school districts. The formation of "Greater New York" (New York City) was only possible in the 1890s because the political machinery was in place to allow annexation and takeover to be effective. Tammany Hall was more powerful than the opposition. State administrations in New York have been trying to encourage consolidation and shared services for decades with very limited success. Even dying places in Upstate New York want to hold on to local autonomy.