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Traffic in New York City near the Port Authority Bust Terminal bus ramp on 8th Avenue. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user Raidarmax.
New York City is moving forward with its plan to enact the very first congestion pricing law in the country, driving vehicles south of 60 million people.
Construction Drive reports that the city government will renew public hearings next week on the plan, which has been debated since the bloom of the Bloomberg administration.
The controversial move was first approved by the Albany state legislature in 2019 with a goal of generating over $ 1 billion a year in revenue, which in turn would help support a now-suspended MTA capital project of $ 51 billion -Dollars to pay.
The move is only beginning to move forward now after it was blocked for a period of years by the Trump administration amid an apparent dispute between the executive branch and then-Governor Andrew Cuomo.
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New York hopes to follow cities like Stockholm in implementing the directive, which will also help increase the number of subway riders, which have remained low after the pandemic and recent increase in crime.
The measure is not without notable opponents who claim that congestion prices are just a factor for middle- and low-income drivers who could be charged up to $ 3,000 a year in tolls depending on where their commute starts and ends .
Still, if introduced, the toll could open up an easier path for other cities like San Francisco (which is currently working on its own plan), which Kate Slevin, executive vice president of the Tri-State Regional Plan Association, says: important to that Development of urban life in the 21st century.
“We want the MTA and the city to get it right,” she told Construction Drive. “We need these types of solutions across the country to meet the challenges ahead. Many eyes were on New York and will continue to be. “
