It’s down to the wire to secure federal funds for Mayor Bloomberg’s congestion pricing plan. Follow along as the Brian Lehrer Show covers the negotiations and the politicking, while diving down into the underlying issues.
Sam Schwartz, president and CEO of Sam Schwartz LLC, a traffic planning and engineering firm and columnist for the Daily News explains why congestion pricing will work in New York.
Mayor Bloomberg is pushing congestion pricing while failing to acknowledge and eliminate thousands of illegal placard/permit parking abuses in NYC every day. Illegal placard abuse causes congestion problems NOW, and Bloomberg and the NYPD have not dealt with it. NYC loses countless millions in parking meter revenue alone every month. Elimination of illegal parking permit abuse is the most important first step, not congestion parking. First things first - Get rid of permit/placard abuse - enforce the law, and you will have no need for congestion pricing. Why was illegal permit abuse not emphasized during the radio interview?
Jun. 08 2007 06:11 PM
Score: 0/0
Chuck
from Princeton, NJ
Regarding Congestion Pricing, I can not support a program that lays a resolution on the working class. The cost of a commute is expensive enough (i.e. tolls, gas, parking), and Mayor Bloomberg’s plan will increase the average persons costs. I can envision only limousines in lower Manhattan! If Mayor Bloomberg was truly concerned about traffic reduction he would impose a daily car quota into Manhattan. That way all passenger vehicles, not just the people who can least afford it, will be subject.
May. 03 2007 05:33 PM
Score: 0/0
Rich
from Staten island
During last year's congressional election, Steve Harrison proposed eliminating the toll on the VNB for those who live within the 13th congressional district and installing high speed tolls (removing all toll booths) in both directions. This would allow for congrestion pricing.
One goal was to decrease traffic, especially truck traffic, through SI.
May. 02 2007 10:45 AM
Score: 0/0
Sharon Gold
from Upper East Side
How will the Mayor's green plan solve the problem of Bronx and Westchester residents driving into Manhattan and parking above 86th Street, then taking public transportation to midtown? I see huge gridlock issues and parking mayhem for the areas above 86th Street on both sides of town.
May. 02 2007 10:45 AM
Score: 0/0
cj3
from astoria
Commenting on today's show with Sam Schwartz. I agree with Mr. Schwartz's assessment of the traffic flow as cockamamy. It seems that one of the major problems in NYC is that there are plenty of great laws and ideas, however, few of them are actually implemented (or if they are, poorly so; maybe a show topic here?). I agree with congestion pricing, and also agree with a lot of the other suggestions from Mr. Schwartz as well. But again, it really comes down to implementation.
May. 02 2007 10:38 AM
Score: 0/0
Mike Webster
While some of Sam's suggestions regarding tolling do seem to make sense, I'm very skeptical about his 'road widening' and 'span building' ideas. Where are the mass-transit ideas?!?!? Not only that, but there is a better almost unutilized way to move freight into and within the city than widening parkway lanes and building bridges: using our city's waterways. By creating a network of small maritime facilities we could greatly reduce truck traffic by using this free and plentiful waterborne transportation resource.
May. 02 2007 10:35 AM
Score: 0/0
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Comments [6]
Mayor Bloomberg is pushing congestion pricing while failing to acknowledge and eliminate thousands of illegal placard/permit parking abuses in NYC every day. Illegal placard abuse causes congestion problems NOW, and Bloomberg and the NYPD have not dealt with it. NYC loses countless millions in parking meter revenue alone every month. Elimination of illegal parking permit abuse is the most important first step, not congestion parking. First things first - Get rid of permit/placard abuse - enforce the law, and you will have no need for congestion pricing. Why was illegal permit abuse not emphasized during the radio interview?
Regarding Congestion Pricing, I can not support a program that lays a resolution on the working class. The cost of a commute is expensive enough (i.e. tolls, gas, parking), and Mayor Bloomberg’s plan will increase the average persons costs. I can envision only limousines in lower Manhattan! If Mayor Bloomberg was truly concerned about traffic reduction he would impose a daily car quota into Manhattan. That way all passenger vehicles, not just the people who can least afford it, will be subject.
During last year's congressional election, Steve Harrison proposed eliminating the toll on the VNB for those who live within the 13th congressional district and installing high speed tolls (removing all toll booths) in both directions. This would allow for congrestion pricing.
One goal was to decrease traffic, especially truck traffic, through SI.
How will the Mayor's green plan solve the problem of Bronx and Westchester residents driving into Manhattan and parking above 86th Street, then taking public transportation to midtown? I see huge gridlock issues and parking mayhem for the areas above 86th Street on both sides of town.
Commenting on today's show with Sam Schwartz. I agree with Mr. Schwartz's assessment of the traffic flow as cockamamy. It seems that one of the major problems in NYC is that there are plenty of great laws and ideas, however, few of them are actually implemented (or if they are, poorly so; maybe a show topic here?). I agree with congestion pricing, and also agree with a lot of the other suggestions from Mr. Schwartz as well. But again, it really comes down to implementation.
While some of Sam's suggestions regarding tolling do seem to make sense, I'm very skeptical about his 'road widening' and 'span building' ideas. Where are the mass-transit ideas?!?!?
Not only that, but there is a better almost unutilized way to move freight into and within the city than widening parkway lanes and building bridges: using our city's waterways. By creating a network of small maritime facilities we could greatly reduce truck traffic by using this free and plentiful waterborne transportation resource.
Leave a Comment
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Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.