Daily News from New York, New York • 4

too bigII i Wish list liEtened to Erie Canal in impact CI imwimwmK Sf: A rTflmfe' Newark PffrPj JttM Kennedy pvvrElizabeflr A- Red Hook --If Airport j' jtiiLJpi A-. Contalrwr kHHI JtSSSmigf -J mml fgs XfElffi ZjSjBSB. IV BROOKLYN Bridge TWTOm I a ..17 OuterMdgirr i HIGHLIGHTS Line-Item costs for specific projects Included In the PA's $14 billion capital plan: High-tech early-warning system for delays at Hudson River bridges and tunnels $93 million New concourses at LaGuardia to accommodate larger aircraft $229 million New parking garage at LaGuardia $171 million New Terminals 5 and 6 at Kennedy Airport $270 million Improvements to JFK Terminals 2, 3 and 4 $100 million JFK AirTrain, linking city's mass-transit system directly to Kennedy Airport $396 million Expansion of Terminal A at Newark Airport $230 million New parking garage for Newark's Terminal A $113 million New access roads for Newark Airport $246 million Renovations to south wing of Port Authority Bus Terminal $157 million Construction of second Goethals Bridge south of the existing span $345 million New ventilation system for Holland Tunnel $84 million New PATH train fleet $628 tnC5on PATH station modifications to accommodate longer trains $117mB5ob Computerized, higher-capacity signaling system for PATH trains $289 mSSorn New ramp Inking the Palisades Interstate Parkway to the lower level of the George Washington Bridge $82m5oa Deepening channels at Howland Hook and Elizabeth ports $896 miTSon By BILL EGBERT DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Not only is the Port Authority's new capital plan the most ambitious in the agency's 80-year history officials say it's also the most important transportation initiative in the region since the Erie Canal. "In the 1800s, St. Louis was supposed to become the center of commerce for the whole continent," said Christopher Ward, the PA's director of planning and external affairs.

"It was right on the Mississippi River, and everything was supposed to come up the Mississippi and go west from St. Louis. "But then New York built the Erie Canal, and look what happened to Chicago," he said, referring to the waterway that linked New York's ports with the Great Lakes and turned the Illinois cow town into a commercial powerhouse. Ward said that the global economy is currently undergoing massive shifts that will determine the commercial centers of the next century, and he believes that building a modern, high-capacity transportation system complete with deepwater ports, port-to-rail links, computerized "smart highways" and a seamless, regionwide mass transit system will be crucial to maintaining New York's position as a commercial mecca. "If we don't do this now," Ward said, "that activity is going to go somewhere else." Ken Johns, a maritime shipping consultant in New York, agreed.

"There's tremendous investments being made in these big ships that need deep water," he said, "and you either provide for them, or they'll go somewhere that will provide for them. You do face the risk of being left out if you don't provide what's PROPOSED PORT AUTHORITY TOLL AND FARE HIKES CURRENT E-ZPASS E-ZPASS i CASH E-ZPASS CASH PEAK OFF-PEAK Lincoln and Holland tunnels $4 $3.60 $7 $6 $4 George Washington Bridge $4 $3.60 $7 $4 Stat en Island bridges $4 $3.60 $7 iyi $3 (Goethals, Outerbridge tt Bayonne) PATH fare (per trip) 1 u-- PATH QutekCard J-', tt. (twotoZOtrlps) '-Y': PATH Monthly $40 $60 -v'- QuickCard (46 trips) (87 centstrip) PROPOSED including maintenance and upkeep. Figures NOTE: Peak hours: Monday through Friday 6 am to 9 ajn. and 4 p.m.

to 7 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays noon to 8 p.m. Under the proposal, E-ZPass Bridges Plan and S.I. Bridges Plan no longer available. Also, PATH 40-trip QuickCard would no longer be offered. monies to be spent at each specific facility, facility totals.

Easiong traffic coinigGsttira a key pairft IF plaim NOTE: Financial figures on the map include all in this list are included in the overall facility by ly, would pay less during peak hours, and receive a second discount when they avoid the rush hour altogether and travel during off-peak times. The PA plan includes a third type of pricing, based on geography. To entice tunnel crawlers to take less-congested routes, the George Washington Bridge would cost commuters 50 cents CN By BILL EGBERT DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER While the Port Authority is doing its best to assure commuters that the extra revenue from the planned toll and fare hikes is vital to building a next-generation transit system, the new pricing proposal is about more than money. By using a multitiered rate structure, the PA also aims to steer commuters toward choices that ease congestion. For example, the proposed toll of $7 on Hudson River crossings applies only to drivers who pay with cash which requires a full stop in a toll lane.

Those who use E-ZPass, which allows them to slide through toll plazas more quick less than the Holland and Lincoln tunnels during rush hour, and the Staten Island bridges would be $1.50 cheaper. "What we're saving is, if you can go off-peak, you'll see just a very small increase," said Christopher Ward, the PA's director of planning and external affairs. "If you have to use it during peak hours, then use technology that gets you through the toll-booth quick and we'll give you a discount." Ward hopes the higher tolls for cash payments would spur commuters into signing up for the toll-collection device. "Once we're all on E-ZPass," he said, "then we can do really creative things like getting rid of the toll plazas altogether.".