MUCH-NEEDED FUNDING
Officials highlight capital funding for municipal touring road improvements
COHOES, N.Y. » Elected officials recently gathered at Cohoes City City Hall to discuss new capital funds for municipal road touring improvements. The vital infrastructure allocations from the state budget will reduce costs for municipalities, improve public safety traveling conditions, as well as making the region more attractive for commerce and tourism.
The new program provides $100 million to establish a capital funding source called the “City Touring Routes Program” to reimburse cities, villages, and towns for capital project costs on local roads and bridges. The funding is allocated based on New York- or U.S.-signed touring route miles for which these municipalities have capital maintenance responsibility.
Assemblyman John McDonald, D-Cohoes, has been a strong advocate for the program, which looks to allot significant funds to the Capital Region.
“This has been an issue that I have long championed and I have worked for years to assist local governments with their capital needs related to these state touring routes that are main connecting roads carrying large volumes of traffic. Yet, the financial responsibility rested solely on the local governments. This funding opportunity works to address those inequities and is a step in the
The new program provides $100 million to establish a capital funding source called the “City Touring Routes Program.”
right direction,” McDonald remarked on lifting financial burdens from localities.
“For the most part, these five cities have been taking on the chin, for the past umpteen years these routes have been designated seeing increased traffic, increased maintenance costs, and no money to help support it. I’m pleased that we can say today thanks to the efforts of many, $10 million of that $100 million is going to help these five communities,” McDonald noted on the cities finally receiving their fair share of funding.
“New York’s final 2021 state budget includes an unprecedented amount of funding for local highways, bridges, and roads maintenance,” said Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy, DAlbany.
“Touring routes, or highways and roads that are signed either by state agencies or the federal government given their cultural and scenic value, often serve as major thoroughfares throughout communities in the Capital Region. Until now, maintenance, repairs, and other improvements were exclusively funded by local governments and municipalities. Now, these costs will be shared more equally — creating more jobs within our local public works and transportation departments, and will help to upgrade and modernize the Capital Region’s existing transportation infrastructure,” Fahy explained regarding lessening the burden of costs.
“I was a strident advocate
for funding in the final budget for the ‘City Touring Routes Program.’ This is critical for municipalities that have heavy volumes of traffic, but little state funding to maintain these roadways. This funding will reimburse the localities of Albany, Cohoes, Rensselaer, Watervliet and Troy, for their capital project costs to keep local roads and bridges in a safe condition,” said Sen. Neil Breslin, D-Bethlehem.
The five mayors on hand detailed what the funds represent for their respective communities.
“This $4 million in road repair funding is vital to New York’s Capital City - a city whose population usually doubles in size each day, resulting in thousands more vehicles adding wear and tear to our streets,” Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said on the $4,254,572 anticipated for the city.
“State touring routes, like Rt 470 through the core
of Cohoes, are pathways for everything from commercial trucks carrying heavy loads, buses and commuters getting people back and forth to work, to kids walking to and from school. These are vital thoroughfares that get a lot of wear and tear, and are essential but expensive to maintain. The cost of maintaining these State routes should be shared,” City of Cohoes Mayor Bill Keeler remarked regarding the $1,141,409 slated for the Spindle City.
Troy Mayor Patrick Madden commented on how the funds will help patch the Collar City through an unofficial daunting fifth season in the Northeast.
“All of the mayors up here and former mayors, understand that there [are] actually five seasons every year, and the little known season starts late in January and runs through midspring and it’s known as ‘pothole season’,” Madden jested.
“It’s when our residents
and we drive erratically down the street, trying to avoid craters, new reservoirs, and things of that nature,” Madden continued.
“The freeze-thaw cycles that we see increasingly as time goes on, wreak havoc on our infrastructure, particularly our roads. The ability to step in quickly and make those repairs is absolutely essential to the safety of the community, not just to drivers but pedestrians as well,” Madden added on the 17 miles of state touring roads within the Collar City limits, which are expected to receive $3,707,699 in allocated funds.
“The dollars we are receiving couldn’t come at a
better time. Our resources are stretched to the max and this will certainly help not only improve the infrastructure but the overall appearance of the city which pays back in dividends,” City of Watervliet Mayor Charles Patricelli opined on the $895,567 that will help stretch their dollars further.
“This helps us out with a lot with our other infrastructure projects. With money like this, I can spend more time and money working to enhance those sidewalks and roads that are not on state roads,” Rensselaer Mayor Michael Stammel noted on the $373,780 in funds that will help free up the city for other projects.
“NYCOM thanks Assemblyman McDonald for his persistence in securing the road improvement funding our communities so desperately need. The viability of local businesses and the quality-of-life of residents depend upon safe and modern roadways. NYCOM looks forward to working with Assemblyman McDonald and his colleagues in the State Legislature to ensure that this initiative becomes an ongoing partnership between the state and its local governments,” New York State Conference of Mayors (NYCOM) Executive Director Peter A. Baynes added.