Congestion Pricing Fails

Below is Bloomberg's statement:

“Today is a sad day for New Yorkers and a sad day for New York City. Not only won’t we see the realization of a plan that would have cut traffic, spurred our economy, reduced pollution and improved public health, we will also lose out on nearly $500 million annually for mass transit improvements and $354 million in immediate federal funds.

“I will be speaking with Secretary Peters and will express my thanks for her commitment to innovative solutions to real problems facing large cities today. I will also express my deep disappointment that, sadly, even Washington, which most Americans agree is completely dysfunctional, is more willing to try new approaches to longstanding problems than our elected officials in the State Assembly. It takes true leadership and courage to embrace new concepts and ideas and to be willing to try something. Unfortunately, both are lacking in the Assembly today.

“If that wasn’t shameful enough, it takes a special type of cowardice for elected officials to refuse to stand up and vote their conscience– on an issue that has been debated, and amended significantly to resolve many outstanding issues, for more than a year. Every New Yorker has a right to know if the person they send to Albany was for or against better transit and cleaner air. People know where I stood, and where members of the City Council stood. They deserved at least that from Albany.

“The idea for congestion pricing didn’t start in our Administration and it won’t end today. The $354 million we would have received from Washington tomorrow will go to another city in another state. But the problems congestion pricing could have helped solve are only going to get worse. And too many people from more than 170 environmental, labor, public health and business organizations recognize the merits of congestion pricing and hopefully someday, we will have more leaders in the Legislature who recognize it too.

“We will continue to push forward on the other 126 proposals in PlaNYC that will reduce our carbon footprint and green our City. We will move forward on proposals to plant 1 million trees, introduce hybrid taxis and install green roofs on City buildings. Congestion pricing is just one part of our ambitious agenda.

“I want to thank everyone who has worked tirelessly for congestion pricing and I want to acknowledge the courage and leadership that our partners in the City Council, Speaker Quinn, Governor Paterson, former Governor Spitzer, Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno, Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco and some in the Legislature have shown by working together to convince their colleagues to support congestion pricing. Together, we will continue to work to build a greener, greater New York City.”

Expected, but still disappointing.

Manhattan's Congestion Pricing Stalled

Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan passed a City Council vote a couple days ago, but now has to make it past the state government in Albany before it can be signed into law. As of now, things don't look good:

The plan to charge drivers $8 to enter Manhattan below 60th Street met with stiff resistance from Democrats in the State Assembly on Wednesday night, suggesting that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has a difficult path ahead of him to persuade lawmakers to pass the initiative.

Assembly Democrats, who were weighing in on the proposal for the first time since the City Council handed the mayor a major victory by approving it on Monday night, appeared to be leaning heavily against the plan.

I think congestion pricing is a wonderful idea (up there in awesomeness with salt water taffy). The funds collected from charging drivers will be used to maintain and build out new mass transit. First will be buses, which are easy to deploy, and then eventually new subway lines can be built.

Congestion pricing is an investment in mass transit, which comes at both a lower financial and carbon cost than automobiles. Mass transit also implies a certain level of population density, which comes with other benefits such as reduced sprawl.

Here's hoping the plan passes!