Andrea Bernstein

LIRR commuters (photo by @MSG via flickr)

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer -- a likely 2013 New York mayoral candidate -- put transit squarely in the middle of the 2013 debate Tuesday by proposing a reinstatement of the commuter tax and an infrastructure bank to fund long term capital projects, including more rapid buses in the outer boroughs and a subway from Brooklyn to the Bronx.

"I believe we need to get back to an era in which public transportation is acknowledged as an essential civil responsibility," Stringer said in a speech to the Association for a Better New York.  "Right alongside public safety and education."

Stringer wants to re-jigger the way capital construction is financed, setting up an infrastructure bank seeded by the NY Mortgage recording tax, which now funds transit operations.

But to do that, he needs a replacement source of funds for transit operations, and he's looking to the restored commuter tax to supply more than $700 million a year to do that.

Still,  the fate of the commuter tax, which would be borne exclusively by suburbanites, is cloudy at best, and it's already being blasted by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who's calling it "penny-wise and pound-foolish."

And in supporting the commuter tax, Stringer is backing away from his previous support of congestion charging. The commuter tax would only affect suburbanites, who won't vote for the next mayor, while a congestion charge would hit some city residents.

The commuter tax -- a 0.45 percent surcharge on income -- died in 1999 when Democratic Assembly member Sheldon Silver brokered a deal to eliminate the tax in order to help a Democrat win a special Senate election in Orange County. The Democrat lost. The tax was detested by suburbanites.

But Stringer says he thinks he can get it passed. "Every Mayor, when they get elected, gets one big ticket from Albany," Stringer said in a question-and-answer session after Tuesday's speech. " Mayor Bloomberg got mayoral control of the school system. Other mayors came up and asked for something from Albany that can change the discourse in this city. I believe the next mayor can go to Albany, rearrange the commuter tax, build a partnership with suburban elected officials, and finally finally finally get this transit system on sound footing because this is not just a New York City issue, it’s a regional issue. And if we flounder, we could take our economy with us, and that’s the argument we have to make."

In 2008, a congestion charging plan backed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg passed the New York City Council, but died in the legislature, where it found little support.

Congestion charging is “our last best chance to reduce the number of cars and trucks on our streets, lessen the business costs associated with congestion, reduce asthma rates, build new mass transit, and prepare New York City for another million residents," Stringer testified in 2008.

But Stringer stopped short of endorsing the latest congestion charging plan -- Sam Schwartz's  "Fair Plan" -- which would charge drivers entering Manhattan while  lowering some other tolls around the city. Stringer said that was an idea that deserves "discussion." His prepared remarks said "serious consideration."

When questioned after the speech, Stringer said "I am supporting my plan...I’m not endorsing the Sam Schwartz plan. I’m not endorsing those ideas today, but I wanted to say to people, elected officials, potential candidates, why don’t we dig in and have a real discussion and not be afraid to talk about new ideas?"

Stringer's press people were also quite clear that Stringer does not favor congestion charging -- although he doesn't not support it either.

The MTA stopped short of supporting Stringer's call for a commuter tax, but spokesman Adam Lisberg said "we're glad that he’s started this conversation about how to get more funding for the MTA, because the MTA needs money."

Neither the congestion charge nor the commuter tax have much support in Albany. Governor Andrew Cuomo, when asked about the congestion charge while campaigning for Governor, called it " moot." He's shown a distinct distaste for taxes -- especially dedicated transit taxes -- this year eliminating a dedicated tax surcharge for the MTA paid by suburbanites.

In supporting a commuter tax over the congestion charge, Stringer is hewing a politically less treacherous route -- he's not pushing for a tax or a toll that some outer borough residents detest. No constituents of Stringers, should he be elected mayor, would be affected by the commuter tax.

Of the other 2013 candidates for Mayor, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn helped steer the congestion charge through the city council -- where Public Advocate Bill Di Blasio, then a council member, voted against it. City Comptroller Bill Thompson, a 2009 mayoral candidate, opposed congestion charging, but supported more expensive registration fees for heavier cars.

Former Congressman Anthony Weiner, before he withdrew from the 2009 Mayor's race, supported congestion charging -- but only for people who didn't live in New York.

In 2005, no Democratic candidates for mayor supported congestion charging.  I know, because I asked them about it during the primary debate.

Top stories on TN:

NYC 2013 Mayoral Race Begins as Stringer Backs Tax for Transit (link)

Ray LaHood drinks the BRT Kool Aid (link)

Why California Gas Prices Are So High (link)

Aging transit has an $80 billion repair backlog ( AP via Boston.Com) TN's earlier reporting on this here.

City cores are growing (The TransportPolitic)

Portland, ME, gets "bike taxis" (Kennebec Journal)

Discovery flies out of Florida for the last time (WMFE)

Obama abandoned a 2008 campaign pledge to tax oil companies (Politico)

While it pays to work in oil & gas industry (KUHF)

Ford builds all-electric car as NASCAR pace car (USA Today)

This super-commuter's bill?  $800K--and that's just from July (Washington Post)

And: Ann Romney: Seamus "loved" the car roof (Politico)

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, a likely 2013 candidate for mayor, is out with his first big policy proposal — and it's to add a variety of taxes to fund transit.  In a speech to be delivered to the Association for a Better New York Tuesday morning, Stringer is proposing reviving the commuter tax, killed in 1999, to fund faster buses and a new subway line from Brooklyn to the Bronx.

Scott Stringer (phtoo: Stringer2013.com)

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer is the first likely 2013 New York mayoral candidate out of the box with a detailed plan for financing the city's transit system.  It's a a mix of solutions -- but the gist is this, there should be more financing for transit, and not just from transit riders.

Instead, Stringer wants to bring back the commuter tax, killed by Albany over a decade ago, as well as take a fresh look at congestion charging, bridge tolls, and other sources of funds for transit.

All of the taxes and fees would require approval by state lawmakers and Governor Cuomo.  In the past, leaders of both parties and Governor Cuomo have not supported congestion charging, and Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver brokered the deal that killed the commuter tax.

Stringer's proposals, to be delivered at a speech to the Association for Better New York Tuesday morning,  now set a bar for the other candidates -- City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio, and former City Comptroller William Thompson.

Other than Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing proposal, transit funding has not been a big part of mayoral campaigns in the past.  Stringer's speech is a sign that that there will be more discussion to come in the next 19 months.

Among his proposed solutions:

• Dedicate the NY Mortgage Recording Tax, which currently funds transit operating expenses, to transit capital expenses. Stringer says the tax fluctuates too much to be a reliable source of year-to-year funds.
• Instead, he wants to use the tax as the basis for a transit infrastructure fund, to draw in in union and other pension investments.
• To replace the loss of the recording tax to the operating funds, he suggests a number of possible funding sources.
• Bridge tolls, a la the 2010 Ravitch Plan.
• A congestion charge, a la the Sam Schwartz "Fair Plan"
• Letting the MTA borrow against increased property tax revenue that comes when new subway stations are built.
• A restoration of the commuter tax, which was repealed by the state legislature in 1999.

Stringer says he'd spend the money on more bus rapid transit, light rail on 42nd street, and connecting Red Hook Brooklyn to the Navy Yard,  an AirTrain to LaGuardia, and an "X" subway line connecting Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx.

Map of Austin's Proposed BRT System

Texas, oil and driving capital of of the U.S., is getting a Bus Rapid Transit system. The state's capital is slated to get 40 miles of new busways in 2014.

And in his blog today, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood waxes on the advantages of Bus Rapid Transit, in a post that could have been written by the pro-BRT group, Institute for Transportation Development Policy.

As LaHood describes the service: "The new MetroRapid bus service will include 40 new bus stations with 40 clean diesel buses running along a 37.5 mile route parallel to the region’s main highways, I-35 and Loop-1. The service will make it easier for riders to access the State Capitol, the University of Texas, and the opportunities available in downtown Austin’s central business district."

But here's where he really goes gaga:

BRT is an enhanced system with modern buses operating on separate lanes or other transitways. By running on special lanes isolated from traffic, BRT combines the flexibility of buses with the efficiency of rail. And with high-tech vehicles and advanced infrastructure, BRT operates at faster speeds than conventional bus service while also providing greater reliability and increased customer convenience.

What communities get is essentially rail on wheels.

In Austin, Administrator Rogoff signed a grant agreement providing $38 million to build a bus rapid transit system in Austin, bringing additional transportation choices to one of the most congested mid-size cities in the country.

The new MetroRapid bus service will include 40 new bus stations with 40 clean diesel buses running along a 37.5 mile route parallel to the region’s main highways, I-35 and Loop-1. The service will make it easier for riders to access the State Capitol, the University of Texas, and the opportunities available in downtown Austin’s central business district.

No word yet on whether Austin's service will be up to international BRT standards, including segregated lanes, off-board payment, no-step boarding, and signal priority.

When a fourth-grade student came home with test preparation work, the task of finding the answer to an apparently unanswerable question became a family affair, a WNYC reporter writes.

Staten Island bus rider Regina Esposito uses Bus Time.

We were fooled. The MTA has had real time bus information on the M 34 since 2010.  So when we wrote, per the MTA's  press release, that Manhattan's M-34 is the latest bus route to get Bustime, the MTA's real time bus information system, that wasn't accurate.

What's new is that as of this week the MTA will have a new operating system, which means its countdown clocks won't work.  From the customer perspective the only difference is there won't be LED's at the bus stops saying when the next buses are coming, which seems like a net loss to the customers.

Our sharp-eyed colleague, editor Matthew Schuerman, caught the double-speak.

MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg said the authority didn't mean to mislead. "The system that was in place before was proprietary technology," Lisberg said. "It would have cost more.  We want to do it in the cheapest way possible."

@NYCTSubwayScoop tweeted at us: "That was a pilot system run by Clever Devices.  MTA Bus Time is a open source platform and we're not beholden to a vendor," adding in a second tweet: "the displays were the property of the vendor, not NYC Transit."

Let us say, we get that.  We've been close followers of Bustime.  But when we read the press release -- it led us to believe that a new service was arriving on 34th street.

Transportation Nation apologizes to our readers for letting this one get by us. (We weren't the only ones -- New York 1, ABC Local were among the other media outlets who were confused.)

Bustime has helped riders in Staten Island and Brooklyn navigate the transit system.

It allows users to check where buses are on their desktops, or to text a stop code to the MTA at 511123, and receive a text back saying how many stops away the buses are.

The service allows users who are shopping or at work to check the arrival time of the next buses without being at the top.

Bustime has been on the B-63 bus in Brooklyn for over a year, and in Staten Island for several months.   The Bronx is scheduled to get Bustime later this year, with Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan to be phased in.

The American Public Transportation Association has linked real time transportation information to increased transit use.

For a list of stop codes go to http://www.bustime.mta.info

Countdown clocks along the M-34 bus route — which runs from Bellevue Hospital on the East Side of Manhattan, past the Empire State Building and ends at the Javits Center on the West Side — will be removed from stops beginning Monday.

This in from the DOT: transit ridership spiked 5.5 percent compared to February of 2011.  According to Ray LaHood's Fastlane blog, "This is the first time since 2005 that transit ridership has increased by more than 5 percent from the prior year for two consecutive months. And the average increase during the past six months of 4.5 percent is the highest since 2008."

The increase correlates almost exactly with the beginning of this run of higher gas prices.  Take a lot at this chart of gas prices over the last six months from  gasbuddy.com -- look at what happens in February.

Other facts from the DOT:

• Houston's Main Street Red Line carries 45,000 passengers a day, far over expectations.
• Phoenix's  light rail has fueled a push for transit in neighboring Tempe and Mesa.
• Charlotte's Lynx has generated $1.4 billion in economic development.

Transit ridership also spiked in 2008, and the number of miles driven cratered, but that slowly changed as gas prices sank again. But last spring, as gas prices inched up, so did transit ridership.

In 2011, transit ridership also steadily rose, the American Public Transportation Association reports.

The result of all of these data points  -- that transit ridership tracks gas prices -- would suggest that Americans are fickle. Except that last week, U.S. PIRG released a report showing that transit use is way up among young people, and driving is way down: 24 percent over the last decade.

That suggests a generational shift may be underway. As these young people age, Americans may drive less.

Stay tuned.

Really interesting post from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today on his fast lane blog, which we're reprinting here, in it's entirety.

LaHood is using the post to push Congress to pass an actual transportation bill, but still, history buffs, have a look.

(Text and photos from US DOT)

Here you go:

A lot changes in 50 years.  In 1962, the U.S. population was 186.5 million, compared to today's 311.6 million, and a gallon of milk cost only 49 cents.

Like the press blitz a day earlier of $1.2 billion in accelerated roads projects, the announcement was made via ten separate press releases detailing popular projects, each with specially tailored quotes from local lawmakers praising the projects and the governor.

New York Works is Cuomo's new infrastructure bank.  It was enacted in December, though the bill authorizing its funding is less than a week old.

New York works will coordinate capital spending by 45 agencies and authorities.  It will have a governing board of 16, controlled largely by the Governor, though that body has yet to be constituted.

In recent years, Governors have killed big infrastructure projects, and Congress has yet to pass a surface transportation bill.    But Governor Cuomo is taking full political advantage of his new infrastructure bank by pushing out word of popular projects -- which not only provide needed area parks, but also create jobs around the state.

Here are links to the most recent round of press releases.

04.04.2012 Governor Cuomo Announces NY Works Projects to Upgrade State Parks and Historic Sites in the Capital Region

04.04.2012 Governor Cuomo Announces NY Works Projects to Upgrade State Parks and Historic Sites in the Southern Tier

04.04.2012 Governor Cuomo Announces NY Works Project to Upgrade State Park in Central New York

04.04.2012 Governor Cuomo Announces NY Works Projects to Upgrade State Parks and Orda Facilities in the North Country

04.04.2012 Governor Cuomo Announces NY Works Project to Upgrade State Park in the Mohawk Valley

04.04.2012 Governor Cuomo Announces NY Works Projects to Upgrade State Parks in Western New York

04.04.2012 Governor Cuomo Announces NY Works Projects to Upgrade State Parks in Finger Lakes Region

04.04.2012 Governor Cuomo Announces NY Works Projects to Upgrade State Parks in New York City

04.04.2012 Governor Cuomo Announces NY Works Projects to Upgrade State Parks, Historic Sites and a Ski Facility in the Hudson Valley

04.04.2012 Governor Cuomo Announces NY Works Projects to Upgrade State Parks and Historic Sites on Long Island

Young people riding the bus (photo US PIRG)

Young people are driving almost a quarter fewer miles than they were a decade ago.  A new report by the U.S. Public Interest Research says that between 2001 and 2009, the average number of vehicle miles traveled by young people decreased from 10,300 miles to 7,900 miles per capita.

During that same period, driving overall dropped 6 percent.

"Young people are driving less for a host of reasons," according to the report, which defines young people as 16-34 year olds. "Higher gas prices, new licensing laws, improvements in technology that support alternative transportation, and changes in Generation Y’s values and preferences—all factors that are likely to have an impact for years to come.

The data are based on the National Household Travel Survey. It also showed:

*The number of passenger miles traveled on transit by young people rose 40 percent.

*Young people took 24 percent more bike trips.

*They walked 16 percent more frequently.

*The share of 14 to 34-year-olds without a driver's license increased from 21 percent to 26 percent in the decade after 2000 (Source: Federal Highway Association).

The report attributes the decline in driving to communications technology and social networking, which can replace some car trips.

In addition, the report says, smart-phone apps and web sites that make real-time transit data available have made car-sharing, bike-sharing, and public transit more user friendly.

The report also says the recession has played a role, as unemployment and high gas prices can make place car ownership, and driving, out of reach.

But it says the rule holds across economic classes, employed and unemployed.

The aging Kosciuszko Bridge — which connects Brooklyn to Queens via the BQE — will be replaced to the tune of $460 million, the state announced this week.

The New Dutch Kills Green Park (Sharyn Jackson/WNYC photo)

Once it was a commuter parking lot, now it's a park. With a new name: Dutch Kills Green. The Long Island City (Queens) park replaces the old JFK commuter parking lot. A city press release describes the park as having "new crosswalks, sidewalks, countdown pedestrian signals, improved lighting, 489 new trees, an off-street bikeway, and a separate pedestrian walkway. "

This just in:  We'll have more, plus MTA response, in a bit:
                      MTA ELECTRONIC SECURITY PROGRAM
                          DELAYED TWO MORE YEARS
         Progress Report on MTA Capital Security Program Released

   The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has pushed back the
   completion date for its electronic security program by another two years
   until 2014, putting the program nearly six years behind its original
   scheduled completion date, according to a progress report released today
   by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

   In February 2012, the MTA completed all of the projects planned under
   Phase 1 of the capital security program, begun in response to the
   attacks of September 11, 2001, with the notable exception of the
   electronic security program. This program has encountered numerous
   setbacks and is now expected to be completed in June 2014 at a cost of
   $516 million, nearly double original estimates. The MTA has completed
   two of the 16 construction projects slated for Phase 2 of the program,
   but it intends to defer six projects due to lack of funding.

   “While the MTA’s capital security program has taken far longer and cost
   more than planned to complete, the regional transit system is more
   secure and the public better protected today,” DiNapoli said. “Further
   security improvements are needed and finding the necessary resources
   must be a priority for the MTA.”

   The MTA and Lockheed, the primary contractor of the electronic security
   program, are currently in litigation to determine who is at fault for
   the problems in implementing the program. Even though the program is far
   behind schedule, the MTA and the New York City Police Department are
   utilizing the parts of the system that are operational. The MTA expects
   the electronic security program to be fully operational at three of its
   four operating agencies by June 2012.

   While the Comptroller’s report does not reveal detailed information on
   individual projects for security reasons, the report notes that the MTA
   has hardened 17 critical infrastructure facilities such as bridges,
   tunnels and stations to make them better able to withstand the impact of
   explosive devices. In addition, perimeter protection had been enhanced
   at five major facilities. Fire, life and safety improvements have been
   completed at 16 facilities, including tunnels and stations. Operational
   initiatives including enhanced police patrols, baggage inspections and
   public awareness programs have been implemented with the cooperation of
   other stakeholders.

   For a copy of the progress report click here
  

New York is investing $1.2 billion in new, accelerated road and bridge projects, just days after Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the funding bill for his "New York Works" infrastructure bank.

The funding -- almost ten percent of the entire $15 billion projected spending on infrastructure -- came even before appointees to a 15-member committee to administer the fund were named.

The funding will accelerate road and bridge projects across the state, with the largest single payment -- nearly half a billion dollars -- going to replace the Kosciuszko Bridge between Brooklyn and Queens in New York City. But there are projects everywhere, from the Hempstead Turnpike in Long Island to the Latta Brook Road in Chemung County to Rt 52 over the Callicoon Creek in Delaware County to Route 9N in Port Henry, in the North Country.

The $1.2 billion in accelerated funding comes on top of $1.6 billion in previously planned spending on roads and bridges. It does not include the more than $5 billion replacement of the Tappan Zee Bridge, a project which has drawn fire for its lack of mass transit.

In a measure of how Governor Cuomo views the political potency of building new infrastructure, word of the investments came in a series of ten carefully-designed press releases, each targeted to a different media market with quotes praising the governor from local legislators.

The infrastructure bank has won support from business and labor leaders, who see a significant new infusion of funds into construction as a shot in the arm for the economy, particularly upstate.

And while many details of the fund are as yet unreleased, some infrastructure bank experts shrugged off the disbursement of funds before its governing structure has even been named.

"You can't just jump to where we should be," said New York University professor Michael Likosky, who has advised governments on setting of infrastructure banks. "That's a lot of the reason why these things have failed up to now."

Robert Yaro, president of the Regional Plan Association, was also nonplussed. "These were projects that had to happen," Yaro said, noting that New York has slowly defunded road projects over the years, leaving many roads and bridges in critical condition.

The grand idea of the NY Works fund is that it will coordinate capital spending among 45 agencies and authorities, including the state Department of Transportation, the New York MTA, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Thruway Authority, the Department of Environmental Conservation, and others. The governing body will prioritize and coordinate state projects -- the lack of which can tangle with interest costs, construction materials, and labor availability.

The $1.2 billion in new spending consists of $247 million in state capital funds and $917 million in new federal funds. When it's fully constituted, the fund is supposed to draw in private capital -- but, unlike Mayor Rahm Emanuel of Chicago, Governor Cuomo hasn't said which private sector investors have indicated they will invest in the fund.

This tranche of funding includes $212 million for bridge decking and structural replacement on 115 bridges, $250 million for 2,000 miles of pavement, and $687 million for "transportation projects of regional or statement significance throughout the state that had been delayed due to resource constraints," according to the press releases.

The Governor's office promises a live web link to on going New York Works projects, but that list is not yet live.

Here are the ten press releases (with lists of projects)

April 2012

A Hubway station (photo by effelarr via Flickr)

After being closed for the winter,  Boston's "New Balance Hubway" officially relaunches today.

This in this morning from the Hubway folks:

"Boston Mayor, Thomas M. Menino,  officially launches the 2012 New Balance Hubway season at noon on Tuesday, April 3, 2012. The Mayor will be joined by Nicole Freedman, representatives from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, and other Hubway dignitaries at the Boston Public Library Hubway Station to remind us that 'The car is no longer king in Boston.' "

As TN has reported, that station is one of the most popular in the system.

This just in from the White House:

Statement by the Press Secretary on H.R. 4281

 On Friday, March 30, 2012, the President signed into law:

H.R. 4281, the "Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012," which provides funding for programs funded from the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) for the period April 1, 2012, through June 30, 2012; and extends the authority to make expenditures from the HTF for HTF-financed programs through June 30, 2012.

###

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, speaking earlier this month (photo by U.S. Army Public Affairs, Midwest)

Fixing infrastructure has bedeviled cash-strapped cities in recent years. Washington has failed to pass a comprehensive surface transportation bill, last summer's debt deal paved the way for spending reductions, Republican governors have cancelled big rail projects, and the public has been generally sour on big spending deals.

With the announcement of a $7 billion infrastructure plan, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is signalling that era may be ending.

"The Mayor's basic premise is he's not going to let the city twist in the wind at the whim of the federal or state governments," said Tom Alexander, an Emanuel spokesman.

With funding from water rate hikes, efficiencies, and --mostly -- private banks setting up an "infrastructure trust" to finance projects, Emanuel plans to fund a $1.4 billion improvement in O'Hare airport, 16 new miles of bus rapid transit, and repair 100 CTA stations.

Also on deck:  $660 million for public schools, 180 new acres of parkland, the replacement of 900 miles of water pipe, and the completion of the Bloomingdale Trail -- the Chicago version of the High Line.

According to the press release:  the program, called Building a New Chicago, "is one of the most comprehensive infrastructure plans in Chicago’s history, involving an unprecedented level of coordination between City Hall, multiple city departments and sister agencies, private sector utilities, and the public."

Other big city mayors, notably New York's Michael Bloomberg and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, have championed big infrastructure projects.  Mayor Bloomberg is a co-founder of Building America's Future, a pro-infrastructure lobbying group. But neither mayor has the extensive control of Mayor Emanuel, who runs the transit system, schools, and water infrastructure. In New York, for example the MTA is run by the state.

"A lot of American cities are focused on what's happening in Chicago," said Robert Puentes, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program. "There's nothing really like this -- we don't know all of what this is -- but there is so much interest.  I really expect other cities to replicate it if it's a success."

The Mayor's office hasn't fully explained all the financing, but in one part of the plan, major banks including JP Morgan Chase and Citibank are investing in more energy-efficient buildings.  Those efficiencies will be used to produce savings, which in turn can be used to pay back the investors.

Marcia Hale, president of Building America's Future, praised Emanuel's plan, and called out the Senate for passing a transportation bill "that would erect barriers to states and cities seeking to collaborate with the private sector."  (The Senate bill has not passed the House; on Thursday, both houses of Congress passed a 90-day extension of the existing bill, the ninth such extension.)

Chicago has not fully laid out the details of its financing plan, other than to say it won't rely on tax hikes.

The city did release a video explanation of the plan:

Here's the full  release:

Mayor Emanuel today announced a $7 billion, three year infrastructure program, Building a New Chicago, which is one of the largest investments in infrastructure in the City’s history.  The program will touch nearly every aspect of the city’s infrastructure network and create more than 30,000 jobs over the next three years.

“Whether it is renewing our parks or repairing our pipes, repaving our roads or rebuilding our rails, retrofitting our buildings or revitalizing our bridges, we must restore Chicago’s core,” said Mayor Emanuel. “Our plans are comprehensive because our needs are comprehensive -- because no city in America relies on its infrastructure more than Chicago.  While our infrastructure challenges are not unique, our resolve and determination to see them through is. I look forward to rebuilding our city’s infrastructure so we may continue to lead in the 21st century.”

Mayor Emanuel made the announcement at Chicagoland Laborers’ Training and Apprentice Center, in the city’s Austin neighborhood.

The investments will not require increases in taxes. Many of the projects are paid for through reforms, efficiencies, cuts in central offices, direct user fees, and the recently announced Chicago Infrastructure Trust. 

The improvements in Building a New Chicago will include:

• Renovation, repair, or rebuilding of more than 100 CTA stations
• The creation of the first 16 miles of Bus Rapid Transit Route on Jeffrey Boulevard, with future routes being developed for the Central Loop.
• A $1.4 billion investment in O’Hare airport over the next three years, creating 5,900 jobs, including opening two new runways by 2015.
• A five-year, $290 million capital plan for the City’s parks  that will include the acquisition of 180 new acres of parklands, and the building of 20 new playgrounds and 12 new parks.
• The 2014 completion of the Bloomingdale trail.
• The completion of two new boathouses this year on the Chicago River, with two new boathouses next year.
• The replacement of 900 miles of century-old water pipe, the repair of 750 miles of sewer line, and the reconstruction of 160,000 catch-basins.
• The reform of the Aldermanic Menu, and tax increment financing, so that these tools better match the city’s infrastructure needs.
• A $660 million investment in Chicago Public Schools, and a $479 million investment in the City Colleges of Chicago, to create modern educational environments that will propel our students into the jobs of tomorrow.
• “Retrofit Chicago,” a $225 million dollar effort to retrofit City buildings, reducing their energy consumption by 25 percent and creating 900 jobs in the next three years, the first project funded by the Chicago Infrastructure Trust.

Building a New Chicago brings a new level of coordination to the City’s capital investment process, maximizing efficiency, stretching scarce resources and minimizing impacts on residents.

The full speech, as prepared for delivery, is attached here.

The president has been teetering between supporting pipelines and gunning for green energy -- today, he's slamming big oil, as the Senate prepares to vote on legislation to repeal oil tax subsidies.

Here's a transcript of his remarks. (Watch him deliver them live here)

Good morning. Today, Members of Congress have a simple choice to make. They can stand with big oil companies, or they can stand with the American people.

Right now, the biggest oil companies are raking in record profits – profits that go up every time folks like these pull into a gas station. But on top of these record profits, oil companies are also getting billions a year in taxpayer subsidies – a subsidy they’ve enjoyed year after year for the last century.

Think about that. It’s like hitting the American people twice. You’re already paying a premium at the pump right now. And on top of that, Congress thinks it’s a good idea to send billions more of your tax dollars to the oil industry?

It’s not like these are companies that can’t stand on their own. Last year, the three biggest U.S. oil companies took home more than $80 billion in profit. Exxon pocketed nearly $4.7 million every hour. And when the price of oil goes up, prices at the pump go up, and so do these companies’ profits. In fact, one analysis shows that every time gas goes up by a penny, these companies usually pocket another $200 million in quarterly profits. Meanwhile, these companies pay a lower tax rate than most other companies on their investments – partly because we’re giving them billions in tax giveaways every year.

Now, we all know that drilling for oil has to be a key part of our energy strategy. And we want our oil companies to succeed. That’s why under my administration, we’ve opened up millions of acres of federal lands and waters to oil and gas production. We’ve quadrupled the number of operating oil rigs to a record high. We’ve added enough oil and gas pipeline to circle the Earth and then some. And just yesterday, we announced the next step for potential new oil and gas exploration in the Atlantic.

The fact is, we’re producing more oil right now than we have in eight years, and we’re importing less of it too. For two years in a row, America has bought less oil from other countries than we produce here at home – for the first time in over a decade. Simply put, American oil is booming.

So the oil industry is doing just fine. With record profits and rising production, I’m not worried about the big oil companies. With high oil prices, they’ve got more than enough incentive to produce more. I think it’s time they got by without more help from taxpayers who are having a tough enough time paying their bills and filling up their tanks. And I think it’s curious that some of the folks in Congress who are the first to belittle investments in new sources of energy are the ones fighting the hardest to keep these giveaways for big oil companies.

Instead of taxpayer giveaways to an industry that’s never been more profitable, we should be using that money to double-down on investments in clean energy technologies that have never been more promising. Investments in wind power and solar power and biofuels; in fuel-efficient cars and trucks and homes and buildings. That’s the future. That’s the only way we’ll break this cycle of high gas prices that happens year after year after year.

We can’t just drill our way out of this problem. We use more than 20% of the world’s oil, but we only have 2% of the world’s known oil reserves. That means we could drill every drop of American oil tomorrow – but we’d still have to buy oil from other countries to make up that difference. We’d still have to depend on other countries to meet our energy needs.

That is not the future I want for America. I don’t want folks like these to have to pay more at the pump every time there’s unrest in the Middle East. I don’t want our kids to be held hostage to events on the other side of the world. In America, we control our own destiny. We forge our own future.

That’s why as long as I am President, America will pursue an all-of-the-above energy strategy.

Yes, we’ll continue to develop our oil and gas resources in a responsible way. But we’ll keep developing more advanced, homegrown biofuels, like the kinds that are already powering truck fleets across America.

We’ll keep investing in clean energy, like the wind power and solar power that’s already lighting thousands of homes and creating thousands of jobs.

We’ll keep manufacturing more cars and trucks that get more miles to the gallon so that you can fill up less.

We’ll keep building more homes and businesses that waste less energy so that you’re in charge of your energy bills.

And we will do all of this by harnessing our most inexhaustible resource of all – American ingenuity and imagination.

That’s where we need to keep going. That’s what’s at stake right now. That’s the choice we face.

And that’s the choice facing Congress today. They can either vote to spend billions of dollars on oil subsidies that keep us trapped in the past. Or they can vote to end these taxpayer subsidies so that we can invest in the future. It’s that simple.

As long as I’m President, I’ll put my faith in the future. And the people I’ve talked to around the country – the people here with us today – they put their faith in the future, too. Because we’re Americans. That’s what we do. That’s who we are. We innovate. We discover. We seek new solutions to our oldest challenges. And we succeed. I believe we can do it again. And today, the American people are going to be watching to see if their Members of Congress believe that too.