Congestion Pricing
Streetsblog Basics
Whither the MTA: Beyond the Failed Stopgap
This week’s MTA vote won’t just cost New Yorkers 25 percent more per ride, it will also be
costly in lost time.
March 27, 2009
Beyond Ravitch: Still Time for a Bolder Plan
As Albany lawmakers ponder which of a half-dozen Ravitch plan variations they might support, the possibility looms that no solution may come in time. New Yorkers could see their fares rise 25 percent while service is cut back -- a twin catastrophe in this tough economic time. Yet no big new ideas are being advanced to protect mass transit users, which is why I believe the time has come for consideration of Ted Kheel’s and my traffic plan.
March 10, 2009
Senate Dems Denounce Bridge Tolls as Doomsday Draws Closer
While the looming MTA doomsday scenario is desperate enough that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has put forward a proposal to charge drivers roughly the same as transit riders to cross East and Harlem River bridges, Democrats over in the Senate are balking at the prospect of requiring drivers to give up their free rides. The Daily News reports on yesterday's Ravitch plan talks.
February 26, 2009
Jeffrey Dinowitz, Then and Now
Bronx Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz on congestion pricing, February 2008:
February 2, 2009
Congestion Pricing Foe Bill de Blasio (Grand)Standing Up for Straphangers
Tonight, the MTA will host a public hearing in Brooklyn, where the agency will undoubtedly hear from scores of residents terrified by the prospect of elimination or reduction of service on several of the borough's bus and subway lines. The self-appointed leader of the charge will be candidate for public advocate and current City Council Member Bill de Blasio, who sent out this e-mail blast ahead of tonight's meeting (via Gowanus Lounge):
January 28, 2009
Stringer, Squadron, and Silver Call for Safer Chinatown Streets
In response to the crash that killed two young children on a Chinatown sidewalk yesterday, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and State Senator Daniel Squadron have released a nine-point plan to improve safety on the neighborhood's streets. From Stringer's press release:
January 23, 2009
IBM Pitches Congestion Pricing to Middle America
This IBM ad, now airing during NFL playoff games, is definitely aimed at the motoring set. More remarkable than its windshield perspective, though, is that it's being used to introduce the concept of congestion pricing to sports-obsessed Americans, and it doesn't get more mainstream than that.
January 13, 2009
New Low-Cost Transit Plan From Team Kheel-Komanoff
Ted Kheel and Charles Komanoff are out with an updated version of their plan to fund low-cost transit with congestion fees on cars and trucks. Coming hot on the heels of Kheel Plan II, the latest iteration -- called Kheel-Komanoff -- lowers the cordon tolls in a bid for political support but does not close the MTA's budget deficit:
January 9, 2009
The 2008 Streetsie Awards, Part 2
Biggest Setback: After being approved by an unprecedented civic coalition, the mayor and New York City Council, congestion pricing -- the one policy measure that simultaneously reduces traffic congestion while raising money for mass transit and livable streets -- died in an Albany backroom without even a vote.
December 30, 2008
Will the Transit-Riding Public Get a Fair Shake?
Whatever your stance on the Ravitch Commission's MTA rescue plan, the broad inequities of allowing New York transit service to deteriorate while fares rise 23 percent are stunning. The doomsday budget passed earlier this week would affect vastly more New Yorkers than bridge tolls or congestion pricing, burdening those who can least afford the added delay and expense.
December 19, 2008