New York City’s public transportation system is always facing repairs, train traffic, rerouting problem, and delays. Some subway cars are dirty, old, and can be extremely inconvenient, but when looking at other cities, it isn’t as bad as we think. Though it might be slow, and dangerous at night, it allows citizens of the city to get almost anywhere they need to. Cars may be quicker, but not always when you account for traffic jams, and they’re only a luxury here. I agreed with the proposal for a system of tolls that attempts to minimize car usage, and update and expand the subway system, but I don’t think that this goal of a better public transit system should be a weapon in competition with other world cities. Trams and underground trains in other places may be more efficient or cleaner than our subways, but the crowdedness and grit is all part of the honest experience.
Despite this, New York’s transit could use an update. By trying to reduce car traffic and therefore, its environmental impact, Move NY also creates a more natural system that pushes for a higher efficiency route for toll collection. As a result of these larger yields, the city has more money to invest in a faster, more reliable, and more accessible, system of public transit for citizens living in suburban areas in outer boroughs.
I think Move NY is a great plan for New York and a looks toward the future. It is a more responsible, efficient, and environmentally friendly idea that NYC should be proud to accept. Even though it isn’t completely necessary in the competition between us and other global cities, being a testing ground for innovation on a large scale is something unique to New York and something that we as a city should be actively seeking rather than trying to push away. So, I support the ideas that were presented by our guest speaker last Wednesday, I just don’t completely agree with a small part of the reasoning, or advertising of the project.
