Slow Pace of Change at Port Authority
ANDREW TANGEL And HEATHER HADDON
Nearly a year after a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey official allegedly engineered a traffic mess at the George Washington Bridge, a question still haunts the sprawling agency: Could it happen again?
To John Degnan, the Port Authority's new chairman, the answer is: Probably not.
"The Port Authority has taken important interim steps, which lead me to conclude that it's highly unlikely that a 'Bridgegate' could happen again," Mr. Degnan said. "What we need to do in addition is institute structural changes at the Port Authority which make it even more impossible that that kind of activity could happen again. It's important to restore the public confidence in the Port Authority."
For all the pledges for reform after the mysterious Sept. 9-13, 2013, bridge-lane closures, the pace has been incremental. The structural changes mentioned by Mr. Degnan—including how people like him are appointed to positions of power—have so far proved elusive, and there has been no consensus between New York and New Jersey on an overhaul.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/port-authority-reforms-a-work-in-progress-a-year-after-bridge-scandal-1410140629
