WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government has agreed to pay $354 million to New York City to help install tolls for drivers entering the busiest parts of Manhattan.
New York’s effort, called congestion pricing, would mark the first time such a toll program has been instituted in the U.S. Similar programs already exist in London and Singapore.
The plan is generally approved of by residents of Downtown Brooklyn and nearby areas. However, many residents of more outlying Brooklyn and Queens areas that aren’t readily accessible to public transportation have opposed it, as have many businesspeople who make deliveries by truck.
“Unlike building new roads, this plan can be implemented quickly and will have an almost immediate impact on traffic,” said Transportation Secretary Mary Peters.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg had vigorously touted the toll plan to reduce gridlock and pollution, but federal support was jeopardized by weeks of haggling among New York leaders who finally struck a compromise agreement on congestion pricing.
Governor Eliot Spitzer congratulated Bloomberg on the news, calling it “a wonderful step forward.”
Also competing for federal aid was Minneapolis, where divers are still trying to find the remains of four missing motorists from a catastrophic bridge collapse. Nine people are already confirmed dead in the Aug. 1 collapse.
The other cities seeking funding were Atlanta, Denver, San Francisco, San Diego, Miami, Seattle and Chicago.
Peters said the New York money is contingent on the state Legislature approving congestion pricing within 90 days of reconvening. The Legislature will take up the matter early next year.
“I share the mayor’s confidence that the support will be there,” said Peters, who praised Bloomberg as “that rare politician willing to take on taboo topics like congestion pricing because he knows commuters need solutions that work, not promises that do not,” she said.
Asked whether new tolls amounted to a new tax on drivers, Peters said, “What tolls are doing is giving people an opportunity to have a choice.”
Under Bloomberg’s plan, that choice would mean use mass transit or pay $8 to drive a car into Manhattan south of 86th Street on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Trucks would pay $21. The city administration says that money raised from the plan would be used for mass transit improvements.
New York opponents of congestion pricing argue that it won’t affect driver behavior enough to improve air quality or overall traffic patterns. They also say it amounts to a tax on middle-class New Yorkers who live outside Manhattan.
Even after yesterday’s announcement, for example, Congressman Anthony Weiner, D-Brooklyn/Queens, suggested that the money be used for other traffic-mitigation measures.
“Congestion pricing is simply a bad idea that will create a giant expensive bureaucracy, hand too much authority to state agencies, and give many suburbanites a free ride at the expense of New York City residents,” said Weiner.
Even with the federal boost, there are still plenty of potential potholes.
The decision does not guarantee funding, and it was still unclear if the deal struck weeks ago by New York leaders would hold. Federal officials also want to see any traffic reduction plans implemented by March 2009.
The deal struck by New York state leaders was an agreement to form a commission to examine the overall concept of reducing traffic. The primary plan that the commission will study is Bloomberg’s proposal, through hearings, testimony and reviews of every aspect of traffic congestion. The group is to make a recommendation by the end of January.
The commission does not have to approve the congestion pricing plan; if it doesn’t, it must recommend another solution that projects at least a 6 percent decrease in traffic, the reduction forecast by Bloomberg’s plan.
© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2007
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