Transportation is one of the most important contributors to society’s social and economic well-being. It supports the ability of people to contribute to the growth of cities and countries across the world. According to White in the article, “Stranded: How America’s Failing Public Transportation Increases Inequity,” transportation is more than simply moving people from one point to another (White para 1). It is a critical system with the capacity to expand or limit people’s opportunities, depending on their location. Transportation can either open up or hinder the ability of people to move to their sources of livelihood such as their workplaces. White further observes that areas with inadequate public transportation systems are the most impoverished because of the lack of investment, which reduces employment opportunities and hinders the movement of goods and services. Therefore, one of the effective ways to understand a city’s economic and social performance is to evaluate its transportation infrastructure. Following is an assessment of NYC’s transportation issue and proposal of some effective strategies to address these shortcomings.
Transportation Issue
The New York City, like many other cities in the United States and across the world, faces a myriad of transportation challenges primarily due to the urban growth amid poor planning. Another cause of the problem is the lack of development in the transport sector. Furthermore, cities across the world have witnessed an increase in automobile ownership, creating a significant challenge for urban planners concerning transportation. Regardless of the changes in the urban centers, public transportation has remained greatly deprioritized. Over the years, growth and maintenance of the current public transportation infrastructure reduced considerably, worsening the already bad situation within the transportation sector. White discusses the issue of the aging and inadequate transportation infrastructure in major cities in the United States, including New York City. The author further suggests that the highways are crumbling, bridges remain unrepaired, and railways are inadequate (para 2). The city residents face challenges, especially those who use public systems for their transportation needs. However, there remain minimal efforts by policymakers to improve the system and support the needs of the city residents, especially those from low-income regions.
Congestion and delays in New York City have remained a public issue for the people and policymakers, who have engaged in some attempts to address the issue. Consequently, people are unable to reach their destination on time and waste a lot of productive hours in transit. Fried discusses the issue together with one of the most recent efforts to deal with in the city. The streetcar project was adopted in an attempt to address the problem of congestion in the city. According to the designers of the project, residential development in western Queens and northern Brooklyn has led to challenges in the waterfront. Furthermore, the Navy Yard and Sunset Park are booming in the development of commercial properties (Fried para 2). While such expansions are significant for the economic performance of the city, they create an increase in the demand for transportation while at the same time they consume the land space that would be used for adequate movement. Matthews further discusses the challenge arguing that New York’s subway system does not effectively serve the needs of the residents for proper transportation (para 1). Generally, the authors reveal that the current transport infrastructure in the city has failed to support the movement.
Development in New York keeps isolating people from the available transportation system networks. For example, according to Fried, the development of the residential areas in Western Queens and Northern Brooklyn and commercial properties at the Navy Yard and Sunset Park has caused significant transportation challenges for the residents (para 2). The problem emanates from the kind of growth in the city that isolates people from transportation systems such as trains and subway networks. Furthermore, those living outside the city might fail to notice the current transport system, especially when the subway is broken (Matthews para 1). The transportation challenge is evident in the two cases, a new development in the city and the faulty subway, which is created by the failure to have adequate connections to the public transport system. According to White, the problem affects some people more than others, especially those living in poor neighborhoods who depend on the public transportation system (para 2). Therefore, the transportation issue affects the poor, increasing the level of inequality in the city.
The faulty transportation system in New York City causes other related issues, such as delays getting to work, back home, and other places in the city. Outdated and inaccessible transport infrastructure in the city has economic and social implications because people depend on it to support their daily activities. Accessibility challenges hinder the necessary mobility for various groups of the New York City residents (Matthews para 5). Therefore, policymakers in the city should recognize the fact that the transportation issue in the city is an economic crisis. It is a significant threat to the long-term development of the workforce because residents face challenges having access to the faraway situated workplaces (Samuels para 5). The problem affects those living in impoverished conditions more than those in high-income parts of the city. According to Samuels, an effective solution to the problem should focus on investing in the transport infrastructure, especially improving the transit system across the city and affecting all social and economic parts.
Policy Approach to Address Transportation Issues
Findings relate to the prevalence of transportation issues in the city. Hence, it is crucial to design policy solutions to improve the situation for the residents to enjoy the benefits of operational infrastructure. Addison et al. propose the role of smart growth as the solution to various challenges affecting urban communities (215). The policy involves effective urban planning and transportation system that focuses on ensuring walkability even as the city grows. City planners should ensure that even as they expand the city by building additional structures, they should accommodate various choices including public transit, walking, and cycling. They should provide provisions to support other infrastructure, including navigable streets. Smart growth management and planning practices will ensure that the city accommodates the increasing need for residential and industrial properties while ensuring adequate room for effective transportation (Addison et al. 216). Generally, the city requires the implementation of growth management policies that address the current transportation challenges.
Some smart growth models have been proposed in cities in the United States. For example, the streetcar line model proposed to address the New York City transportation problem is a form of a smart growth initiative. The idea behind the project is to connect residents to the current public transport systems without congesting the city further. Although the current form of the streetcar that connects people to work faces criticism, the model is appealing and could be improved to address some of the most pressing transport challenges in the New York City (Fried para 2). It is a transit-oriented development, which will allow the city to develop residential and commercial structures while easing the access of people to work and go back home. The current project could be unviable because of the cost implications, but policy-makers can adopt a similar model to develop the city while ensuring that people have effective transport means and a way of decongesting the ever-growing city. The transit infrastructure needs to be fixed using effective technology to support connectivity and accessibility across the city.
Conclusion
As it is evident from other cities in the United States and across the world, the New York City faces major transportation challenges, including congestion and urban development that fails to meet the transport needs of the city residents. The city experiences the challenge of outdated transit systems that have affected accessibility while creating delays for people moving to various parts of the city. Various analyses reveal negligence in the transportation sector in the city that has resulted in significant problems as the city continues to grow. Inadequate urban planning accompanying urban growth creates serious transportation issues, which cause detrimental social and economic effects. Therefore, policy-makers in the city should adopt the smart growth model, replace the outdated transport technology with new ones, and improve subways and other transit infrastructure to support accessibility and connectivity. In essence, major changes are necessary to prevent adverse effect of poor transportation to the city and its residents.
Works Cited
Addison, Carey, Sumei Zhang, and Bradley Coomes. “Smart Growth and Housing Affordability: A Review of Regulatory Mechanism and Planning Practices in Journal of Planning Literature, vol. 28, no. 3, 2013. pp. 215-257
Fried, Ben. “4 Reasons a $2.5 Billion Brooklyn-Queens Streetcar Doesn’t Add Up” in Streetblog. February 4, 2016.
Matthews Kayla. What’s Gone Wrong With New York’s Subway System – and how is MTA Planning to Fix it? Citymetric, 2018. www.citymetric.com/transport/what-s-gone-wrong-new-york-s-subway-system-and-how-mta-planning-fix-it-4155.Accessed 11 may 2019.
Samuels, Julie. Transit Problems Threaten New York’s Economic Future, City & State New York, 2018. https://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/opinion/opinion/transit-problems-threaten-new-yorks-economic-future.html. Accessed 11 may 2019
White, Gillian B. “Stranded: How America’s Failing Public Transportation Increases Inequity” in The Atlantic. May 16, 2015. www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/05/stranded-how-americas-failing-public-transportation-increases-inequality/393419/. Accessed 11 may 2019.
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