NEW YORK- County Executive Kevin Byrne has been appointed a Co-Chair of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council alongside Marie Therese Dominguez, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation.
The council (NYMTC) is the second-largest metropolitan planning organization in the U.S. by population served that helps to shape the future of transportation for more than 12 million residents across the region.
Byrne said Friday he was thrilled by the appointment: “In Putnam County, we’ve embraced innovation — launching Putnam On-Demand, the Hudson Valley’s first micro-transit system, increasing ridership, expanding accessibility, and delivering better service for our residents. I look forward to collaborating with Commissioner Dominguez and our fellow council members to advance smart, responsible transportation planning that strengthens infrastructure, supports economic growth, and improves mobility for everyone.”
NYMTC is a federally mandated planning forum to allow the ten counties it represents to coordinate the use of federal transportation funds.
It was created in 1982 after the disbanding of the Tri-State Regional Planning Commission, a metropolitan planning organization for New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Unlike most other Metropolitan Planning Organizations in the United States, NYMTC’s staff is all employees of the New York State Department of Transportation.
Voting members comprise representatives of the Putnam, Rockland, Westchester, Nassau, and Suffolk Counties along with the New York City Departments of City Planning and Transportation; the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the New York State Department of Transportation.