The bold congestion pricing plan proposed by New York City’s mayor and approved by the city council failed to gain the support it needed in the state’s capitol yesterday, as the state assembly chose not to vote on the proposal before a midnight deadline for federal funding.
The city jumped through many hoops the state insisted upon, shrinking the regulated congestion zone to include less than half of Manhattan, forming a commission to review the plan and enacting a local law to approve the plan. However, the state’s legislators never fully got behind Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan to reduce traffic and greenhouse gas emissions, while increasing the use of public transportation.
By missing the deadline the city loses out on $354 million in mass transit aid offered by the federal government.
Some critics of the plan insisted it would simply move traffic problems into the outer boroughs.
Democratic Assemblyman Ruben Diaz said, "It is morally reprehensible and unconscionable to subject the 1.4 million residents of the Bronx to a potential double whammy consisting of a congestion pricing tax with absolutely no guarantee that they will not be subject to yet another transit fare hike in the near future," he said.
Proponents of the measure, similar to congestion pricing schemes in cities like London and Singapore, say the city is missing out on a tremendous opportunity to fund improvements to the city’s transportation system.
"What we are witnessing today is one of the biggest cop-outs in New York’s history," said John Gallagher, a Bloomberg spokesman.
Bloomberg has revived the plan, which was to be the center of 127 Earth Day Proposals, several times in the past, so it’s not likely to disappear completely. However, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine has threatened to sue in order to protect New Jersey drivers who already pay tolls to enter the city.
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