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New York

The Rural Context For Transportation Consultations

New York is the 30th largest state in the U.S. in land area, 3rd largest in population, and 6th most densely populated. However, approximately 20 percent of New York's population and jobs, and 91 percent of the land, is non-urban. About 73 percent of New York's roads are rural. Federally owned lands amount to less than two percent of the state's land area.

New York is one of the five slowest growing states, as measured by population, with a steady rate of employment. The portion of the state's jobs in the uniquely rural agriculture and mining sectors is small (4 and less than one percent, respectively). Most jobs in New York's rural areas are in sectors also common in urban areas: construction, transportation & utilities (13 percent); manufacturing (19 percent); business & trade (25 percent); and services & government (39 percent).

Demographically, New York's non-urban population is predominately white (96 percent). Compared to the other states, the proportion of New York's non-urban adult population who did not graduate from high school is in the middle (23rd lowest), but the portion who did graduate from college is the 5th highest of all states. The 9 percent of New York's non-urban people who are poor is less than in most other states. About 40 percent of the state's non-urban population is in non-working age groups (28 percent 18 years or younger, and 13 percent 65 years or older).

Governmentally, New York is complex. It has 57 counties, plus the five boroughs of New York City, a fairly manageable number compared to many other states. But it also has 615 municipalities and 929 towns or townships, for a total of 1,544 sub-county divisions. This is the 10th highest number of sub-county governments among all states. New York has seven federally recognized Indian tribes.

In addition, the 1997 U.S. Census of Governments has identified 2 independent, special-purpose governments in New York that have transportation responsibilities, one for highways and one for transit. This number is lower than in many other states. New York also has 42 other public transit providers serving rural areas and an additional 253 organizations that provide specialized transit services to elderly and disabled populations in those same areas.

New York has 10 regional councils that cover approximately 75 percent of the state, and 12 MPOs. These regional units help to coordinate the other local governments and play a direct role in rural transportation programs as described below.

Of New York's 111,686 miles of roads, approximately 15 percent are state-controlled, while none are federal. Of the total miles of non-federal rural roads, 15 percent are state, 24 percent are county, 57 percent are township, and 4 percent are m

Processes For Consultation And Cooperation With Local Officials In Non-Metropolitan Areas

The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) works through its 11 regional offices to conduct transportation planning and programming. The regional offices typically work in conjunction with the state's nine regional planning and development boards; each board has a transportation committee. Of the state's 62 counties, which include the five boroughs of New York City, 44 participate in a planning and development board. The process focuses on producing a safe, efficient, balanced, and environmentally sound transportation system. In addition to highways, the consultative process covers transit, air, rail, bike, and pedestrian facilities. NYSDOT develops a 20-year long-range plan, a 12-year statewide program of projects, and a 3-year STIP.

Public involvement processes are determined by each region, guided by statewide policy guidance that was developed in 1994 to meet the requirements of ISTEA. The guidance suggests tools to use, including mailing lists, press releases, public notices and other means to keep citizens current on the plan and program. Essentially, the process in each Region is tailored to the needs of each community and is designed to solicit input into the long-range plan and STIP development. The public involvement process also applies to transit operation, economic development and land use planning, technical guidance, individual project development, and specialized studies.

As part of the development of the State Transportation Plan, a variety of techniques, including public question and answer sessions, 1-800 phone lines, teleconferences, and focus groups, were used to gain input, and drafts of the plan were sent to officials, associations, and MPOs for comment. Two day-long focus groups were held in rural regions of the state to discuss rural concerns, and many officials attended. A stated goal of the NYSDOT master plan is for the department to work with County Farm Land Protection Boards during early project planning to ensure that all rural highway and bridge projects at new locations are sensitive to agricultural concerns. A twelve-member board of Section 5310 and/or Section 5311 transit recipients gives NYSDOT guidance and information on a variety of transit issues.

State representatives meet with County Highway Superintendents frequently to discuss transportation needs and STIP projects. Also, they meet with appropriate officials on transit and air issues. The STIP is made available for public comment as it is developed every two years. Local officials may seek redress through the State Legislature if NYSDOT is not responsive to their needs. Rural officials from developing parts of MPO counties are represented through their county, town, or transportation authority members on the MPO policy and planning committees. MPOs often share data with rural counties and local officials.

NYSDOT's regional offices conduct regional planning and programming. They gather local input to select and prioritize projects, and conduct more general consultation using a variety of approaches. Many of the NYSDOT Regions have Transportation Advisory Committees (TACs). Representatives are appointed by, and may include, rural officials. TACs help to facilitate consultation with local officials. For example, one region issues a call letter in the summer for a program year beginning the following April; in early fall, the TAC meets to discuss the process and provides initial comments for programming decisions. The typical TAC outreach meeting includes a discussion of long-term planning concepts, goals and objectives, programming guidelines, available funding, and the recommended program projects. A county TAC representative hosts the meeting and leads a discussion session on how to improve the process in the future years. In highway planning, approaches such as TACs have also provided input on important issues such as land use and economic development that are not directly related to the STIP.

The Regions perform intensive and extensive outreach efforts at the county level in the development of pavement needs. Regions may use other consultative approaches as well. For example, one has a transit regional roundtable that meets monthly to discuss planning, funding, operational issues, and other items of interest for both urban and rural areas. Another is working with a planning board to develop an overall Regional Economic Development Strategy. Another participates in County Public Works Committee meetings and local government conferences.

One NYSDOT region uses a Local Project Unit to provide administrative process supervision and technical advice to local governments to assist in the development, design, and construction of locally sponsored federal-aid highway projects. These practices are being expanded state-wide.

NYSDOT also has an agreement with the Indian Tribal Governments, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and FHWA that provides for a coordinated and streamlined process for addressing needs and project scheduling and management within the Indian Nations' boundaries. On highway issues, there is consultation on project-related and planning issues affecting the Indian Nations. With regard to transit, Indian governments have generally been offered the opportunity to participate but have not always chosen to do so. NYSDOT regions also consult with Indian Tribal Governments. One is continuing a series of meetings with the Seneca Nation that are deemed beneficial in progressing the current program of projects. The Senecas are involved in developing the road and bridge program for their Nation's lands. Another holds regular meetings with the St. Regis Indian Nation. These meetings have taken on added importance with the emergence of gaming on the reservation, and the region has established a task force to plan for the effects gaming will have on the transportation system.

Only a small part of New York State is federal land. Although, decisions by federal land management agencies often are made independently, without consultation with the state, several specific consultative actions are underway. For example, NYSDOT is working with BIA on access to reservations, with Griffiss Air Force Base concerning projects that might impact it, and with FHWA and the Forest Service to establish a Forest Highway Program in the state.

Transportation is funded from federal, state and local sources. An important source of funds for highway and rail is the state's Industrial Access Program. The state also assists local governments by providing 75 percent of the local match required for Federal Highway projects and one-half of the non-federal match for transit projects. The state also leads the nation in transferring Federal Highway funds to transit projects. Some of the funds are used exclusively for state facilities, some are only for local facilities, and others are for facilities regardless of ownership. Most federal funding is distributed to the NYSDOT regions using a state developed allocation formula. Some federal funds(STP urban) are distributed on the basis of the federal formulas. The regions meet with and solicit proposed projects from counties, MPOs and local governments through a variety of mechanisms including TACs, meetings with local officials such as county highway superintendents, etc. Counties may represent towns and villages in this process. Projects are then made part of the region's capital program. The programming of federal funds is based on need and the merits of each individual project. Counties and municipalities must compete with state projects for funding.

New York uses these practices:

State Hearings: NYSDOT holds public question and answer sessions; the STIP is made available for a formal comment period; the draft long-range plan was sent to various parties for comment.
State Process for Interactive Exchanges of Views with Local Officials: Regional TACs; one region's transit regional round table; regional Local Project Units provide guidance to local governments on locally-sponsored federal projects.
Roles of RPOs: Regional planning and development boards are involved in the NYSDOT process.
Other Practices: Long-range plan development utilized a 1-800 number, teleconferencing, and focus groups. Regions may use a variety of other practices, such as press conferences, mailing lists, participating in local government meetings, and public notices.

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