Local-Motion

More than 75 years after it was first proposed, it now looks like the Second Avenue Subway will become a reality for New York City. Hoorah. The long-proposed subway line got a much-needed boost Monday when officials announced $1.3 billion in federal aid for the project at a news conference attended by Gov. Eliot Spitzer and U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Mary Peters. The funding, to be dispersed over a seven-year period, will cover approximately one-third the cost of building the new train line, which will run along Second Avenue from Harlem to the Financial District. The line was first proposed in 1929. That plan was revisited in the 1960s, but construction on the project was halted in the 1970s due to the financial crisis in New York City. There was a Second Avenue "El" -- or, elevated train line -- but that was demolished in 1942. The old Third Avenue "El" was taken down in 1956. Recently, the feds have taken a renewed interest in funding capital construction projects in New York. Earlier, the USDOT pledged $2.6 billion to fund the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Long Island Rail Road East Side Access project linking the system to Grand Central Terminal. The feds have also pledged funding for Mayor Michael Bloomberg's "Congestion Pricing Plan." All of which will help bring the metro-area transportation network firmly into the 21st Century. Which, by all accounts, is long overdue. The federal government should know, however, that while this is a good first step, more needs to be done. The subway system -- and the LIRR -- need funding to modernize signal systems and need funding for new equipment. And the three metro-area airports -- LaGuardia, Kennedy and Newark-Liberty -- are in dire need of improved capacity, not to mention better airspace routing and use necessary to cut down on chronic massive flight delays. Of course, funding is also needed for better upkeep and maintenance of metro-area infrastructure: bridges, roads, overpasses. Not to be greedy, but if New York City really is as vital to the U.S. economy as everyone always claims, then this funding -- and these improvements -- are vital to the future of our nation. Meaning they need to be fixtures on the radar screen. And they need to remain at the top of the funding lists until they get funded, too.