Every day, New Yorkers rely on local roads, bridges, and culverts to get to work, go to school, run their errands and enjoy our state’s many great recreational destinations. Unfortunately, these same roads and bridges have been financially neglected for too long, and travelers from all over the state have been forced to navigate the state under less-than-ideal conditions.

It is hard to overstate how important our local infrastructure is, as municipally owned infrastructure accounts for nearly 90 percent of all roads in New York, as well as more than half of our bridges. Considering how reliant we are on this critical infrastructure, it is unfathomable how neglected it has been in recent years. In fact, a recent study indicates New York has the sixth-worst roadway system in the nation, trailing only Hawaii, Massachusetts, California, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. According to the data, nearly one-quarter of all major roadways in New York are in poor condition.

Poorly maintained roadways are unsafe, as they hamper emergency services; they are also costly as drivers are forced to make repairs far more frequently when driving on inadequate roads. Data from TRIP, a national transportation-research nonprofit organization, indicates these driving conditions are responsible for $28 billion in motorist repairs each year.

Our Republican Conference believes New York State’s investment in local-transportation infrastructure is a foundational element of our economic growth. For this reason, we have called on Gov. Kathy Hochul and legislative leaders to include an additional $200 million in base level Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS) funds in the upcoming budget. We have also called for $70 million more in Extreme Winter Recovery (EWR) funding to help offset the toll that Northeast storms have on our local roads. These funds are especially important in upstate communities too often ignored at the state level.

Unfortunately, the executive budget proposes local road, bridge, and culvert funding remain flat for this second year of the current five-year Department of Transportation Capital Plan. This proposal fails to recognize the impact inflation is having in the construction industry, where the Department of Transportation’s own price adjustments show fuel costs are up 260 percent, asphalt nearly 80 percent, and steel about 115 percent from July 2020 to July 2022. Making matters worse, the $1.2 trillion “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act” that increases federal highway aid to New York largely cannot be used for local roads.

In light of these unprecedented cost increases, the governor’s proposal is unacceptable. New York taxpayers deserve a commitment to the infrastructure they rely on to take care of their families, their businesses, and themselves. Investing in this now will save untold sums later, and I will continue to fight to get every dollar needed to ensure safe travel for all New Yorkers.      

William (Will) A. Barclay, 54, Republican, is the New York Assembly minority leader and represents the 120th New York Assembly District, which encompasses all of Oswego County, as well as parts of Jefferson and Cayuga counties.

A couple of decades ago, I wrote a book in which I talked about what it takes to be a good citizen in a representative democracy like ours. I thought the principles I laid out were timeless, but I recently reread them and boy, they seem a lot less clear-cut now.

 In principle, everything I wrote back then is still key to the functioning of our democracy: you need to vote; you need to take the time to be informed about policy and politics; you need to be in touch with your representatives to let them know what’s important to you; and you need to be involved in making your community, state, and country a better place to live. Each of these still matters. A lot.

 But over the past 20 years, each has also become more difficult, more politically fraught, and more challenging to navigate responsibly. Some states are trying to make voting more difficult. Misinformation is rampant, and not only online. Being in touch with legislators and becoming involved in public issues have lost their innocence since Jan. 6 and threats to politicians and other public officials became commonplace.

 I see the fallout regularly when I talk with young people who want to become involved in politics or in community affairs but worry about what they might be exposing themselves to if they do. The challenge we face is that our system won’t work unless citizens participate in a constructive fashion. In a sense, there’s now a fifth responsibility for us to shoulder as good citizens: overcoming the predicaments we face on the road to the other four.

Twenty years ago, I would have said that the foundation of good citizenship was voting. I’ve changed my mind. I believe everything else flows from taking responsibility for being informed. This means looking for trustworthy sources of information, being on guard against misinformation and biased interpretations, and recognizing that in the online world in particular, false or slanted information is rampant. Let me be blatant: Mainstream news organizations have plenty of faults and sometimes go astray, but day in and day out they’re the most reliable source of news and information out there. But it’s not safe to rely on just one: Seeking a variety of sources beyond your own ideological wheelhouse will make you far more knowledgeable.

 This, obviously, is key to being a voter. So, I would argue, is advocating for making it as easy to vote as possible while making sure that the mechanics of elections remain secure. We are stronger as a country when more people have a stake in choosing our leadership.

 In a sense, being knowledgeable and well-informed is also key to being in touch with legislators and to promoting a cause or taking on an issue. Lawmakers are bombarded with input from others. To be effective, it helps to look at sources on both sides of the issue and understand the arguments that seem most persuasive. Similarly, if you’re contacting a member based on the request of some interest group (or someone you’ve seen on television or online), you want to spend a little time gauging the reliability of the information they’re using; just firing off a message that parrots their argument is unlikely to be productive.

 The same sentiment holds for becoming involved in community or public life. Involvement is great — but not blind participation. How reliable is the information you’re basing your actions on? Is your involvement helping, rather than hurting because it’s based on incorrect information? Similarly, if someone asks you to get involved to save your town or state or country from some alleged peril, how accurately have they depicted the problem and have you carefully sorted out the claims on both sides of the issue?

 I know. All of this seems like a lot of work. And it is. But American democracy was built on the assumption of an engaged and well-informed electorate. It’s gotten a lot more complicated over the centuries, but if one core truth has remained constant, it’s this: If responsible citizens do not participate in the system, then the system will not work. It’s as simple as that.          

Lee Hamilton, 91, is a senior advisor for the Indiana University (IU) Center on Representative Government, distinguished scholar at the IU Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, and professor of practice at the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Hamilton, a Democrat, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years (1965-1999), representing a district in south-central Indiana.