London did it. So did Singapore and Stockholm. Now New York may finally be coming around to congestion pricing.
The idea is gaining momentum in the state capital and at city hall, giving new urgency to a plan that would transform everyday life for millions of people by charging motorists an as-yet-undetermined toll -- $11.52 according to past recommendations -- to drive south of 61st Street in Manhattan.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said Wednesday that he has the votes to pass a bill, and Governor Andrew Cuomo, a fellow Democrat, told WNYC radio he was fairly optimistic. “It’s proceeding,” he said, though “you’re not there until you’re there.”
Many in the New York City area would rather it never happen. But lawmakers are under pressure to take the step: They face an April 1 deadline on a budget vote that must include a way to finance $40 billion of capital improvements for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, particularly for its century-old subways, which are plagued by equipment failures and breakdowns.
What’s more, clogged midtown traffic is costing the city economy more than $9 billion a year, according to the Partnership for New York City, a civic group composed of chief executive officers.
Cash-Starved
Revenue from the tolls -- which would be counted by electronic devices around Manhattan’s business core -- would help the money-starved MTA bring subways up to 21st century standards. The authority has estimated it needs $40 billion to do that over the next 10 years.
“I think we’re ready to move forward because the assembly members understand how important it is to fund the MTA,” Heastie said after a closed-door meeting with Democrats, who control the legislature. “I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t think I had the votes.”
In the past, lawmakers representing the suburbs have objected to charging motorists to drive on many Manhattan streets, concerned for their constituents who are already paying to cross bridges into Manhattan. Many in the suburban bloc had also insisted that some congestion-toll funds go to support regional commuter trains.
‘Inherently Unfair’
Senator James Skoufis, a Woodbury, Long Island Democrat, said he remains opposed, calling “double tolling” on bridge-and-tunnel motorists “just inherently unfair.”
Yet support is now broad enough for people to be “confident it will pass in the State Budget,” said Gary Ginsburg, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins.