Why is it now 50 Million? We have been told all along the number to run the Canal system was 80 Million even Pataki told us 80…. Do our politicos just pull numbers out of thin air? Sometimes, well most time I think so. Any way doing this is just the first step in the right direction. Stay tuned more coming soon. Sam Hoyt told me he would put in legislation to take the canals away and fund it through the Parks. Let’s see.

DiNapoli wants Thruway to cut canal ties

ALBANY — Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli told the Assembly Transportation Committee today that he, too, believes the state canal system should be detached from the Thruway Authority.

But DiNapoli said that losing the canals shouldn’t be viewed as a cure-all for financial issues that prompted Thruway officials to propose another series of toll hikes.

The Thruway Authority spends about $50 million a year on operations of the state Canal Corporation and is planning to spend another $50 million annually for the next few years on capital repairs and improvements to the canal system, DiNapoli said. The canal system was transferred to the Thruway from the the Department of Transportation in the early 1990s. “It’s probably time to take the canal away from the Thruway Authority and focus on how the canal should be financed and used as an economic development tool,” DiNapoli told an Assembly hearing on the proposed toll hikes.

However, the state comptroller said deliberation about relieving the Thruway Authority of the financial responsibility for the canals should not become a “distraction” from other important steps to improve the Thruway’s management and efficiency.

Action by the governor and state Legislature would likely be necessary to sever the Canal Corporation from the Thruway, and it’s possible that a state constitutional amendment would be required for some of the potential transfers, DiNapoli said.

Thruway Authority Chairman John Buono has expressed support for the idea of moving the Canal Corporation, and many opponents of the toll hike plan have called for removing the Canal Corporation. Former Gov. George Pataki proposed severing the agencies 2006, but the idea did not have sufficient support in the Legislature.

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