ALBANY - The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) today jointly announced funding of $1.6 million for seven cost-shared research projects that reduce congestion and petroleum fuel use and increase the efficiency of New York’s existing transportation systems.

These funds will support the development and demonstration of advanced technologies to ease traffic congestion while enhancing the State’s economy and quality of life.  The investment, which includes $800,000 of federal funds, will leverage an additional $1.4 million of private-sector funds to provide a total of $3 million of investments. 

“Traffic congestion in critical, high-volume corridors is a serious and growing problem, particularly in major metropolitan areas,” Governor Paterson said.  “Reducing congestion is absolutely essential not only to reducing the impact of our transportation system on the environment, but also to attracting new businesses and fostering economic growth.”

In spite of a world-class, energy-efficient downstate transit system, New York State is currently dependent on petroleum for a majority of its transportation needs.  In 2008, the State’s transportation sector was responsible for 76 percent of petroleum consumption and 39 percent of greenhouse gas production, the single largest sector in either category.  (www.nyserda.org/Energy_Information/fastfacts.pdf)

NYSDOT Acting Commissioner Stanley Gee said, “Advanced traffic technologies, such as our extensive traffic camera network, are utilized by the Department of Transportation to greatly reduce congestion on the State’s highways, helping motorists conserve energy, improving mobility and strengthening New York’s economic climate by making it faster and less costly to move goods.  The technologies being tested as part of this program could further enhance the Department’s congestion mitigation efforts and help attain Governor Paterson’s goal of making doing business in New York more efficient while reducing carbon emissions and improving highway safety.”