“Gridlock” Sam Schwartz

You gotta hand it to “Gridlock” Sam Schwartz. Here's why.

The Times story on "adult crossing guards" reveals, though inadvertently, how our politicians have failed us.

Cars cause the gridlock. So why does city policy seek to make it easier for drivers?

Next month's MTA fare and toll increase will be the seventh hike in 15 years, noted "Gridlock" Sam Schwartz this morning. "But there is one traveler that hasn’t seen any change in the cost of travel," he said. "And that’s the person that drives into Manhattan."

After years of fine-tuning, the Move NY coalition has released the final details of its plan to reduce congestion and fund transit by reforming New York City's dysfunctional toll system [PDF].

Toll reform is polling better in New York City than congestion pricing did, even when pollsters don't mention that the Move NY plan would mean billions in transit revenue.

This morning, the Association for a Better New York, a business group, hosted a discussion on the city's infrastructure. The focus was squarely on transportation, and the message wasn't pretty. Panelists warned of dire consequences if elected officials don't act on the precarious state of transportation funding.

After years of meetings and tweaks, the Move NY fair toll campaign launched this morning with a simple message: With AAA and trucking interests at the table beside transit advocates, reforming New York's broken toll system actually has a shot. It's a different beast than the congestion pricing plan that Mayor Bloomberg pushed for six years ago, with more obvious benefits for New Yorkers who don't live in Manhattan.

Remember these guys? This morning, State Senator Tony Avella and Assembly Member David Weprin stood at traffic-choked Queensboro Plaza to say they don't care if the Move NY toll reform plan reduces tolls on bridges near their eastern Queens districts -- they refuse to support any proposal that adds tolls to East River crossings. In a bid to preempt any forthcoming effort to fix the region's dysfunctional road pricing system, they're introducing legislation in Albany to prohibit charging drivers on city-owned bridges. The gesture is pure theatrics, since NYC already can't put a price on those bridges without approval from the state.