The mayor's people say that traffic in Manhattan's central business zone can be reduced by 6.3 percent if commuters are charged $8 to drive to work, and $4 for driving within the zone. But the folks from Consulting Stream, one of 30 potential bidders, suggest that $8 just isn't steep enough to force enough people to stop driving their cars to Manhattan. Coming from a company involved in London's highly touted traffic-reduction program, which charges about $16, that view probably shouldn't be dismissed out of hand. Congestion Pricing Questions: Who's skeptical about the mayor's traffic plan? The companies bidding to run it.
The people at Skymeter, another potential bidder, go even further: They call the goal to reduce traffic by 6.3 percent "unambitious." It will, they say, "do little to ease congestion in NYC." And any potential gain, they add, will be erased in a few years by population growth. "The goal needs to be at least twice that in order to meaningfully impact bus congestion, bicycle and pedestrian safety and air quality," the officials write.
Backers of the plan tout the money it will raise for mass transit. But Accenture, another potential bidder, cautions that in the end, trip times must actually decrease; otherwise, people will see the charge as just another tax. Other bidders say the mayor's plan is too expensive and too complicated to execute by the 2009 deadline.
Photo from Streetsblog
9 comments:
sooooooooo sick and tired of hearing about $$s for mASStRAnsit.
why the hell can't they get the MTA to open at least 2 sets of their "books ?" why do they think that we all have ADD/alzheimer's or collective amnesia ? alternating between a year of surplus..and a year of deficit. 2007 was a surplus year..what was it 60 MILLION or so ?and once again they're gonna reopen the boardwalk in harlem, the 2nd avenue subway ....remember way back in the seventies ? we had a boardwalk in east harlem- and what about all the eminent domain BS going along with THAT ? how much you wanna bet that when once again...THEY run outta money for this endless dig,they simply erect luxury apts.
why isn't ANYONE investigating the MTA ? and as a denizen of this dump called western queens for almost 30 years(burnt outta hell's kitchen, pregentrification readiness when we refused to go)--i don't know anyone driving into nyc unless it's due to someone being hospitalized there(cheaper to throw everyone into a car than 4bucks round trip) or if we have to bring someone to a hospital there since we have NO local hospital,or even a maternity/pediatrics or psych and elmhurst is not a choice or even closer than nyc--
when will people simply get offa their arses and start screaming that we've had enough ?
congestion pricing ? simply more restrictions on your life courtesy of the brain dead,and more money going nowhere beyond some deMs pockets.
"The goal to reduce traffic by 6.3 percent "unambitious."
I am shocked by the 6.3% gain in return for paying $8 to enter midtown! But as I write this I think that no I'm not, I am paying for Manhattanite amenities that don't serve me at all while midtown residents benefit entirely from a 6.3% quality of life improvement! A heavy price to pay for such a small gain - the vendors who vie to put the system in place are saying $16 should be the toll to make traffic move!! $8,$16 or $32 - over my dead body - this is a Jets Stadium dream on fantasy deal of Billionaires - DOA.
Mayor Dumberg intends on placing
an economic moat around his golden isle
of Manhattan.
Hey dumb-ass,
put a halt on over development.
Down zone Queens.......Astoria, for instance,
and you'll see less traffic and congestion!
Yeah.....sure.....the new revenues will go to
improving mass transit.....like the extension of the #7 line to the Javits Center.....a waste of money? !!!
Look, this is the best thing for western Queens. ( I know I know, when eastern Queens has a position what western Queens wants can be ignored becuase everyone knows western Queens is so under the machine's thumb that it can be manipulated into anything - waterfront develpers and Dutch Kills are exhibits A and B in that regard)
Note how the western Queens politicians don't care about it cutting down on our polluted air, or how dangerous it is for any Queens resident to work in a gridlocked city.
They are against it because it would hurt development.
Hell, they are REMOVING parking from western Queens in their eagerness to turn the community over to developers as they add DOUBLE DIGIT to its population.
Next time I can't find the extra money
for increased tolls and a parking spot in Manhattan.....
I'm going to drive my contractor's utility van
up Bloomberg's front stoop
and park it right up his ass.....
in the middle of his drawing room!
Oh what's that.....
he's already paved over his front strip
in anticipation of me parking there ?
Thanks, your honor......you're a regular guy !
I didn't mean to interrupt your tea time.
I've driven into Manhattan since November, and not fully by choice. I became handicapped back in October, and can NOT stand - walking is OK, but standing, particularly when swaying (think subway/bus) will put me in the hospital in 1-2 days (trust me, I've tried)
I WISH I could go back to the LIRR/Subway, and hopefully when my leg heals enough, I'll be back there.
So, you've met one of those folks that "drives to Manhattan"
Any price for driving into Manhattan will hurt all of us. The cost will trickle down to everyone in the price we pay for goods and services in NYC.
This is a bad idea. Why not try the odd and even plate #'s to see how that works. Clean up the mass transit system and stop hiking up the fares.
I am really hating this Mayor lately. I hope he does run for President. I will campaign against him for hurting us in our pockets every chance he gets.
WHERE DOES OUR LOTTO MONEY GO?
I GOT AN IDEA MR. MAYOR. START A LOTTO FOR YOUR CONGESTION PRICING.
What's with this "soak the driver" bit lately?...Tolls foreseen now on Interstate 80...In 10 years, if Corzine has his way, $48 tolls on the NJ Tpk to drive to the Delaware Memorial Bridge!
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