The Challenge
Our nation’s local roads are critical to every facet of our lives. Safe and efficient roads and bridges are necessary for economic vitality, to revitalization, to schools, to trade, to healthcare, to business, in times of crisis, to families and to our overall quality of life. The New York State County Highway Superintendents Association (NYSCHSA) faced ongoing challenges while fighting for state funding year after year.
The Solution
In 2005, the Association chose to take a fresh look at their advocacy efforts, and invest in a more visible presence with the Governor and state legislature. They launched a new grassroots legislative advocacy campaign: Local Roads Matter!
The campaign centers around this slogan, and was intended to highlight the impact of local roads on the state and local economy. All of NYSCHSA’s legislative material was branded with the Local Roads Matter! logo, allowing for a strong, state-wide presence and unified message in seeking adequate Consolidated Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS) funding for New York State.
Since 2005, the Association embarked on an annual Local Roads Matter!campaign to garner legislative and public support for the restoration of funding for the State’s local roads and bridge infrastructure. In 2009, more than 500 county and town superintendents, commissioners and highway industry professionals rallied in New York’s capital, Albany, and spent two days meeting with state lawmakers to request the funding necessary to address the needs for local highway systems, which make up 87 percent of the state's roadways and 52 percent of its bridges.
The Result
In an extremely difficult fiscal year, working with the Legislature and the Governor’s office, NYSCHSA’s Local Roads Matter! campaign insured funding for local highway and bridge projects remained a high priority throughout the thorny budget negotiating process.
In addition to an infusion of transportation funds to New York from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the state restored local highway funds originally proposed to be cut from the 2009-10 Executive Budget. As a result of the enactment of the budget, CHIPS funding stands at $363.1 million. Although the same level as the previous fiscal year, the allocation represents a $112 million increase over what was originally proposed for CHIPS in the Executive Budget. The new CHIPS funding level is $53.4 million more than provided in the 5-Year Capital Plan scheduled amount of $309.7.