Reaction
The Campaign for New York's Future, a coalition of over 150 civic, business, environmental, labor, community and public health organizations that support the goals and strategic direction of PlaNYC, supported congestion pricing throughout the political discussion. They argued that the plan would reduce road congestion, shorten commutes, reduce air pollution, and raise funds for long-term mass transit upgrades.
The Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a member of the Campaign for New York's Future, released an analysis of Census data showing that the vast majority (approx. 93-99%) of workers in the MTA service area, and in individual legislative districts, did not drive to work in Manhattan. TSTC argued that the data showed that congestion pricing was progressive policy.
A March, 2008 Quinnipiac poll found that New York City voters supported Congestion Pricing 67 - 27 if the money were used for mass transit improvements, and statewide voters supported the plan 60 - 30, although the majority of New Yorkers were unaware that a $1 taxi surcharge was included in the plan. Then-presidential candidate Barack Obama, scores of city and state legislators, as well as community leaders openly expressed support for the plan.
New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver opposed the plan, citing several issues. Since motorists would want to avoid the congestion pricing zone, he claimed they would choose to park in neighborhoods just outside the pricing zone. This, in turn, would allegedly create "parking lots" and add more traffic and pollution to those neighborhoods. Secondly, because the plan would reduce traffic in Manhattan's central business district, but, he thought, not necessarily elsewhere, neighborhoods with high asthma rates such as Harlem, the South Bronx, and Bedford-Stuyvesant would not benefit. The installation of cameras for tracking purposes might have raised civil liberties concerns. Silver stopped short of opposing the entire plan, and said he would continue to work toward an agreement.
Other opponents argued that the pricing could become a tax on middle- and lower-class residents, since those citizens would be affected the most financially. At the same time, higher-income commuters would not be turned off by paying the charges; thus the fee would not do much to discourage traffic into the congestion area.
In response to many of these issues, Bloomberg argued that a significant percentage of commuters would switch to public transportation, and most likely for all of their commute; thus cars would be taken off the road outside the Central Business District as well as within it. John Gallagher, a Bloomberg spokesman, also said that "toll shopping", a tendency for drivers to seek toll-free routes, will end as all commuters who go to the congestion zone will have to pay tolls.
On July 9, 2007 Assemblyman Richard Brodsky issued an adverse report, calling the proposal thoughtful and bold, but expressing skepticism on points including financial fairness and environmental impact.
It mentioned as insufficiently studied alternatives (though it did not recommend any of them):
- Rationing
- Better traffic enforcement
- Time-of day pricing on mass transit
- Taxes on gasoline, payroll, commuter, or stock transfer
- Fees on City parking permits
Brodsky also called the proposal a "regressive tax" on the poor and middle class and harmful to citizens of New York City's outer boroughs.
Keep NYC Congestion Tax Free, a coalition of about 80 civic, business and labor organizations and businesses throughout the New York metropolitan area, proposed non-intrusive, low-cost traffic mitigation measures with some half billion dollars or more in incidental revenues as an alternative to the city's congestion pricing scheme that it argued would also qualify for the federal grant. It also recommended revenue measures that would raise nearly $1.8 billion to mass transit projects to induce less driving through better transit service.
Brooklyn and Queens strongly opposed the bill in the City Council, voting against it by a margin of nearly two to one. Brooklyn specifically becomes geographically isolated without access to its free bridges as Manhattan blocks its access to the mainland. A map of the council votes can be seen at http://www.brooklyn-living.com/brooklynpress.html. There have also been protests against congestion pricing at City Hall.
The City Council passed the bill, with the only "No" votes coming from Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, but on April 7, 2008, Speaker Silver announced that the Assembly would not vote on the measure. Shortly thereafter, most of the federal grant that was to have gone to New York City was awarded to Chicago for bus-only lanes and more buses, and Los Angeles for high-occupancy toll lanes.
Read more about this topic: New York Congestion Pricing
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