Get missing Long Island projects on transportation funding list

Have those responsible for deciding how to spend billions of dollars for transportation ever driven through the congested Oakdale Merge? Or taken a slow, smelly diesel train? Or navigated the narrow lanes or twisting curves on any of Long Island's state parkways?

If they had, they'd know better than to overlook these trouble spots.

Planning for five years of future Long Island road and rail improvements rests primarily on a 329-page document awaiting final approval next month.

But that Transportation Improvement Program, as it is known, omits at least a dozen critical local projects, including upgrades of the Oakdale Merge, Sagtikos Parkway and Meadowbrook Parkway and electrification of the Long Island Rail Road's eastern branches.

Now it's up to Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, who are members of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council, the organization responsible for the TIP, to ensure the region's needs are met.

Unless that is done, Blakeman and Romaine should veto the program to gain leverage and assert Long Island's needs.  The TIP requires unanimous approval of NYMTC members, so if just one is willing to say "No," that's enough to veto it. But together, they'd speak with a louder voice. 

On Thursday, NYMTC surprisingly delayed an initial committee vote, temporarily averting a Long Island showdown. A council spokeswoman said members now hope to "revisit the TIP." The final vote comes Sept. 5. Romaine has said he'll "do what it takes" and veto if necessary. Blakeman has not yet made a similar pledge. He previously served as co-chair of NYMTC, which covers New York City, the lower Hudson Valley, and the Island. He must use his clout now.

The TIP process has gone on for months, but few knew about it. NYMTC officials point to their social media posts — but the organization's social media are sparsely followed. That's hardly official and widespread notice. They say they have an email list of 6,000 — but millions of people use the roads and rails.

And NYMTC notes that the local committee that developed the Nassau-Suffolk list included representatives for both counties. But the meeting to approve that list, held in a Hauppauge basement, featured just two public speakers. This process has been shrouded in secrecy.

Long Island advocates say the region deserves its own metropolitan planning organization. NYMTC officials say they appropriately represent the interests of both Nassau and Suffolk counties. That's not obvious from the new TIP.

If NYMTC really cares about Long Island, officials have to show it now — and add the items on Long Island's must-do list. If they don't do that before the final vote, Romaine and Blakeman should torpedo the entire list.  

If Long Island doesn't get what it needs, the State Legislature should again consider giving Long Island its own metropolitan planning organization. That may be the only way to get Long Island moving.