Skip to main content

NYC Congestion Pricing

Recently, the plan for congestion pricing in New York City, specifically within the Borough of Manhattan, was approved by the New York City Council.  Congestion pricing would charge most drivers $8 for the privilege to drive south of 60th St. between 6am and 6pm during the weekdays.  Trucks, taxis and other vehicles may pay different rates, and there are a number of exemptions as well.  The congesting pricing plan is meant to encourage the use of mass transit.

But of course, as things tend to happen in New York State, this plan must be approved by the New York State Legislature in order for the City to get $354 million in federal grants that would used in order to finance congestion pricing.  However, with several state legislators based in downstate New York in opposition to the plan, getting congestion pricing through may be easier said than done.

The state legislature has a deadline of midnight on Monday, April 7, 2008 to approve the congestion pricing plan.  Governor David Paterson, who is said to approve of congestion pricing, has called for the legislature to work on the state budget (which has since passed the annual due date of April 1st) for the weekend, which may hurt the chances of the plan being passed.  If the plan is approved, New York City would be the first city in the United States to have congestion pricing.

I support congestion pricing in New York City, as well as other cities, but I believe the plan is not ambitious enough.  The original plan called for congestion pricing south of 96th St. in Manhattan, which would have worked out well.  Also, if congestion pricing does take effect in New York City, and is proven to be successful, watch for congestion pricing to be implemented in other cities, such as Boston and Washington.

http://tinyurl.com/6kh2wj - Albany Times Union article (4/5/08, via the AP)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_congestion_pricing - Wikipedia

Comments

Anonymous said…
Congestion pricing is absolutely wrong and immoral, especially in NY City, where Manhattan connects LI to the mainland of the USA. The Bronx ans Staten Island already have enough traffic carrying vehicles in/out of LI. Eithe way, it is wrong.

Popular posts from this blog

Morgan Territory Road

Morgan Territory Road is an approximately 14.7-mile-long roadway mostly located in the Diablo Range of Contra Costa County, California.  The roadway is named after settler Jerimah Morgan who established a ranch in the Diablo Range in 1857.  Morgan Territory Road was one of several facilities constructed during the Gold Rush era to serve the ranch holdings.   The East Bay Regional Park District would acquire 930 acres of Morgan Territory in 1975 in an effort to establish a preserve east of Mount Diablo. The preserve has since been expanded to 5,324 acres. The preserve functionally stunts the development along roadway allowing it to remain surprisingly primitive in a major urban area. Part 1; the history of Morgan Territory Road During the period of early period of American Statehood much of the Diablo Range of Contra Costa County was sparsely developed.   Jerimah Morgan acquired 2,000 acres of land east of Mount Diablo in 1856 and established a ranch in 1857. Morgan Territory Road is

The 1915 Fine Gold Creek Bridge (Madera County)

The 1915 Fine Gold Creek Bridge is an early era arch concrete structure found alongside modern Madera County Road 200.  The structure was modeled as a smaller scale of the 1905 Pollasky Bridge (still in ruins at the San Joaquin River) and was one of many early twentieth century improvements to what was then known as the Fresno-Fresno Flats Road.  The 1915-era bridge was replaced with a modernized concrete span during 1947 but was never demolished.  The original concrete structure can be still found sitting in the brush north of the 2023 Fine Gold Creek Bridge.     Part 1; the history of the 1915 Fine Gold Creek Bridge The 1915 Fine Gold Creek Bridge lies near the site of the former mining community of Fine Gold.   Mining claims were staked at Fine Gold during the Mariposa War during 1850. The community was never very large but became a stopping point on the stage road between the original Fresno County seat at Millerton and Fresno Flats (now Oakhurst). The stage road eventually bypas

Old Sonoma Road

  Old Sonoma Road is an approximately five-mile highway located in the Mayacamas Mountains of western Napa County.  The roadway is part of the original stage road which connected Napa Valley west to Mission San Francisco Solano as part of El Camino Real.  Much of Old Sonoma Road was bypassed by the start of the twentieth century by way of Sonoma Highway.  A portion of Old Sonoma Road over the 1896 Carneros Creek Bridge (pictured as the blog cover) was adopted as part of Legislative Route Number 8 upon voter approval of the 1909 First State Highway Bond Act.  The 1896 Carneros Creek Bridge served as a segment of California State Route 37 and California State Route 12 from 1934 through 1954.  Part 1; the history of Old Sonoma Road Old Sonoma Road has origins tied to the formation of Mission San Francisco Solano and the Spanish iteration of El Camino Real.  Mission San Francisco Solano was founded as the last and most northern Spanish Mission of Alta California on July 4, 1823.  The new M