Comments

  • It’s working great in London.

    And helping to rebuild their transit system.

    Bloomberg’s plan would allocate huge new improvements in the outer boroughs, not just manhattan.

    http://commentisfree.guardian......he_cc.html

    Posted by bob
    on April 26th, 2007 at 7:09 pm

  • I haven’t taken issue with the other elements of Bloomberg’s plan, just the congestion pricing.

    I’ve heard it’s been quite the success in London, but what works somewhere won’t necessarily work elsewhere. Different geographies, different cultures. And I would contend New York’s transit system doesn’t need “rebuilding,” just some minor improvements and increased upkeep.

    Posted by Steve
    on April 26th, 2007 at 7:15 pm

  • I am very supportive of the proposal for congestion pricing. We don’t really know all the details yet so I think people should not jump to conclusions until certain details are known. As an example, maybe there should be an exemption for small businesses like the one you mention.

    As to your point that getting from Point A to Point B should always be free, it isn’t free now. There are many costs to having so many people driving into Manhattan–traffic, pollution, adverse health impacts, road and bridge maintenance and rebuilding, etc.

    I do think that there should be a restriction put on the money raised by any congestion fee that it should only be used for improvements to subways and buses.

    Posted by FH Guy
    on April 26th, 2007 at 8:48 pm

  • I thought it was a bad idea to begin with. If the city is serious about reducing traffic, they could provide affordable municipal parking and increased bus and train service. This is just a tax. The businesses that send their trucks into the city every day aren’t going to stop doing so. They’ll just pass the costs on to the rest of us. Furthermore, even if some commuters are deterred by this tax, overall traffic congestion will not drop, it will simply be transferred from Manhattan to Queens & Brooklyn. While I doubt that would bother the mayor, it would bother me.

    Now if Bloomberg were prepared to make this revenue neutral, say a city income tax rebate to residents of the outer boroughs or a reduction in mass transit fares that equals the revenue collected from the congestion tax, I might support it. Otherwise, not a chance.

    Posted by Anonymous
    on April 28th, 2007 at 1:53 pm

  • […] couple weeks ago, when I got my panties all in a bunch about congestion pricing, it did occur to me that maybe there was a solution for the working-class […]

    Posted by Queens Central » You’ll pay us $8 and like it
    on May 7th, 2007 at 9:27 pm

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Congestion pricing: The verdict is in

Posted by Steve on Thursday, April 26th, 2007

And it’s not good. Central Queens residents seem to hate the plan to charge drivers $8 to enter Manhattan during peak hours. Though I don’t have a car, I can’t say I blame them. I thought it was unfair when I heard about it in London years ago, and I think it’s unfair now. Really, getting from point A to point B should always be free, or at least as inexpensive as possible. Freedom of movement is a basic right, like air or water or universal health care. For this reason, I’m not much of a fan of toll roads, either.

How can you tell congestion pricing is bad for Queens drivers? Simple: Though it’s hailed by environmentalists, party-line liberal Anthony Weiner is against it. Any congressman will tell you, after a few stiff drinks, that kowtowing to the party is a close second, but pandering to the constituents is Job One.

As usual, the main criticism has been that the plan is biased against the non-rich, New York’s most-endangered socioeconomic group. Michael “Mike” Bloomberg, New York’s richest man, inadvertently tipped his hand when he scoffed at those who would complain by pointing out that $8 is a mere trifle. I voted for “Mike” in 2005, as did practically everyone, but he ain’t perfect, and his biggest imperfection is that he’s completely out of touch with anyone who rides the subway for reasons other than thinking it’s cute.

New York is a city that loves public transportation. In my experience, if people around here think they can use public transportation, they generally will. People who endure the horrors of driving in Manhattan are usually doing it because they have no other choice. That makes congestion pricing something a little more sinister than a “luxury tax.”

One thing I hadn’t even considered is the potentially huge impact on small businesses. According to the Queens Chronicle:

Many Queens wholesalers, such as Dominick Valente of Maspeth’s Valente Yeast, a bakery, similarly said that the mayor’s plan would doom them. He would have to spend $27,300 per year to send his five trucks into Manhattan five days a week. “How are small businesses supposed to survive?” he asked.

Here’s a personal story for you. When I was in college, I was living with my parents on Long Island and working a summer job in the city. I was on the night shift — journalism, you know. For the first week or so, I took the Long Island Rail Road. Getting in was fine, but when I got out of work at 1 or 1:30 or 2 in the morning, I was forced to wait God knows how long for the train. I hadn’t signed up for a three-hour commute, so I started driving. Through Times Square. At rush hour. Every day. I hated it, but it was better than the alternative. Because I entered the city in the late afternoon, if congestion pricing had been in effect, I — a college student making $10 an hour — would have had to pay that $8 fee every single weekday.

I couldn’t have afforded that, but I would have had to do it anyway. Soon enough, a lot of people in Queens might be in that boat.