Here’s how Manhattan wants to decongest traffic
Now that traffic has returned to pre-pandemic levels, entering Manhattan will have to comply with a new toll system that could range from 9 to 23 dollars (and which does not make everyone agree). The Wall Street Journal article
Motorists headed for Manhattan will have to think twice before entering the area south of Central Park. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said on Monday it has received final approval from the Federal Highway Administration to place a new toll on vehicles entering the busiest areas of Manhattan under the nation's first congestion charging system.
Earlier this year, the administration released a draft "no significant impact finding," saying New York transportation officials had sufficiently investigated the possible environmental impacts of the new toll system, intended to ease traffic. traffic in the business district of Manhattan. A representative of the Federal Highway Administration said the administration has "conducted a thorough review" and concluded the project can move forward.
The new toll, which has not yet been set but could range from $9 to $23, has divided politicians on both sides of the Hudson River, writes the WSJ .
New York officials backed the new toll as a quality-of-life improvement, while the New Jersey governor and others said it would unnecessarily squeeze motorists who already pay to commute out of the Garden State. Passenger cars arriving in Manhattan from New Jersey pay a $17 toll to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to use a bridge or tunnel.
The MTA said it hopes the new toll system will be operational by spring 2024.
Traffic pricing will reduce traffic in our busy downtown, improve air quality and provide critical resources to the MTA, said New York Governor Kathy Hochul. "With the green light from the federal government, we look forward to moving forward with the implementation of this program."
Bailey Lawrence, a spokesman for New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, said the state has instructed some attorneys to explore all legal options.
“The Federal Highway Administration's decision to green light the MTA's proposed toll program is yet another affront to New Jersey workers,” Lawrence said.
The proposal is moving forward because traffic, which had declined during the pandemic, has recovered above pre-pandemic levels, said Janno Lieber, president and chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
“Traffic is completely back,” Lieber said. "We don't have to get everyone out of their cars, we just have to make the business district work."
The toll plan was approved in 2019 as part of a larger budget bill in Albany. It will help raise money for the MTA to improve the city's subway and bus service.
“We need congestion pricing to fix the subway,” said Danny Pearlstein, director of policy and communications at the transportation advocacy group Riders Alliance.
Pearlstein said the fairest way to implement the toll plan would be to "apply it to as many motorists as possible, so that everyone pays a uniform rate."
The tolls would be enforced by camera systems that scan license plates as vehicles enter Manhattan south of 60th Street. Motorists who only use the freeways along the Hudson and East Rivers can avoid the tax, and low-income residents of the congestion zone will receive a tax rebate.
The MTA said it will now look to fine-tune and install the necessary infrastructure, including systems that will generate E-ZPass bills and mail-in tolls.
Critics are expected to launch legal challenges to the congestion pricing scheme. Lieber said the MTA's analysis of the system has been robust and will stand up to scrutiny.
Members of the New Jersey congressional delegation said they were outraged on Monday.
In a joint statement, Congressman Josh Gottheimer, Senator Bob Menendez and Congressman Bill Pascrell Jr — all Democrats — said federal officials have not "requested New York to meaningfully engage with stakeholders across New York Jersey".
Politico previously reported that federal officials were giving the final green light to the New York plan, citing the statement from lawmakers.
According to some critics, congestion pricing will shift traffic problems to other neighborhoods, including low-income areas and communities of color, as motorists use alternative routes to enter Manhattan.
This plan "will punish low-income New Yorkers for congestion caused by wealthier New Yorkers taking Ubers and Lyft," said Joshua Bienstock, spokesman for Keep NYC Congestion Tax Free. “It will also, incomprehensibly, put up a toll wall around Manhattan business areas that New York is apparently trying to revive post-Covid.”
(Excerpt from the foreign press review by eprcomunicazione )
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/ecco-come-manhattan-vuole-decongestionare-il-traffico/ on Thu, 29 Jun 2023 05:45:04 +0000.