NYC Congestion Pricing Plan Moves Forward
April 1, 2008 | Posted by Sheryl Canter in Automobiles & Fuels
This post is by Sheryl Canter, an online writer and editorial manager at Environmental Defense Fund.
Congestion pricing - an antidote to urban gridlock and tailpipe pollution used in cities around the world - advanced another step towards passage in New York City yesterday. After almost a year of research, debate, public dialogue and fine-tuning, the New York City Council voted "yes" to congestion pricing.
Next stop: Albany. If state legislators approve the plan, New York City will soon enjoy less traffic, better mass transit, cleaner air, and tens of thousands of new construction jobs - good news in a sagging economy.
The idea behind congestion pricing is simple: discourage drivers from using the most congested roads at the most congested times by making it more expensive. A congestion fee is collected electronically, and the revenues fund an expansion of mass transit.
The New York City plan is to charge a fee of $8 to cars entering Manhattan below 60th Street between 6am and 6pm. (For full details, see the final recommendation.) Congestion fee revenues will fund better buses, subways, and ferries in all five boroughs.
The State Legislature has until April 7th to approve the plan or risk losing $354 million in federal funds for mass transit improvements. Stay tuned!
3 Responses
Pingback from Environmental Capital - WSJ.com : Green Ink: Big Oil in the Hotseat
April 2nd, 2008 at 6:31 am
[...] curve, raising prices to discourage driving: New York is a week away from its own
Comment from davidzet
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Given that union workers make more money than non-union workers, congestion $$ will result in *fewer* jobs. Given that union jobs are often padded with extra, unproductive workers, bang for the buck is even lower.
I am all for congestion pricing, but those jobs are not the kind that we want to encourage.
Pingback from Climate 411 » For Now, No Congestion Pricing in NYC - Blogs & Podcasts - Environmental Defense Fund
April 8th, 2008 at 11:55 am
[...] Yesterday, the New York State Legislature failed to pass congestion pricing for New York City (see NY1 report), thus forgoing $354 million in federal funds. [...]
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