Congestion Pricing

Too many unanswered questions.

In today's Daily News, former New York City Deputy Traffic Commissioner "Gridlock" Sam Schwartz says congestion pricing should "proceed now" and offers four additional ideas for creating a little breathing room on Manhattan's streets:

I'm not sure I'll ever understand how Richard Lipsky of the Neighborhood Retail Alliance figures he's helping "mom and pop" business by defending the increasingly miserable, congested, automobile-dominated status quo of New York City streets but I do enjoy his Mom and Pop blog. He is an entertaining writer, an experienced political player, and a skilled propagandist (in these quarters, that's a compliment). If Mayor Bloomberg's congestion relief efforts are ultimately shot down in Albany, Lipsky will deserve a fair share of the credit. Remember him, future C-Town delivery truck drivers, as you inch your way through traffic.

The City of Westminster is one of 32 London boroughs, just west of the city center.

PlaNYC identifies North Riverdale, a neighborhood represented by Bronx Assembly member Jeffrey Dinowitz, as one of 22 New York City neighborhoods with a higher than average concentration of Manhattan-bound drivers. (Download the transportation section, page 86)

Car & Travel magazine is published by the Automobile Club of New York, also known as AAA. In addition to being the friendly guys who schlep out at a moment's notice to tow your broken-down car, the Automobile Club has, over the course of decades, done everything in its power to ensure that nothing like congestion pricing will ever be implemented in New York City. They even opposed park-o-meters when they were first introduced in the 1930's.

The16% of Bronx residents who own cars tend to have significantly higher incomes than those who do not, according to data from the State Department of Motor Vehicles and the 2000 Census.

A Quinnipiac Poll released today shows that citywide support for congestion pricing remains consistent at 57 percent -- compared to 58 percent a month ago -- assuming fees can be used to prevent transit fare increases. Given those conditions, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens showed majority support for pricing, with Staten Island opposed (45% in favor to 50% against) and the Bronx nearly split (47% in favor to 49% against).