-
Apr 3, 2008 7:13 pm US/Eastern
-
Digg |
Facebook |
E-mail
|
Print
MTA Chief: So Much Hinges On Congestion Pricing
Sander Says Improvements Likely A No Go Without It
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
New York City's congestion pricing plan is facing gridlock in Albany. The deadline for a vote is Monday, but state legislators are tied up with the state budget right now.
If the plan is shot down, it jeopardizes the future of many Metropolitan Transportation Authority transit improvement projects.
CBS 2 HD sat down with MTA Chief Executive Elliot Sander, who is anxiously waiting and watching.
"There is no question in my mind that it is the right thing to do," Sander said.
Congestion Pricing provides the cash strapped transit authority with a much needed infusion of funds.
When asked how much the MTA would stand to gain, Sander was emphatic.
"The net is about a half billion dollars," he said.
Sander vows that money will go directly to improvements that are desperately needed.
"The first thing that we will be doing is buying 300more buses to provide new service in areas where you have people driving to Manhattan," Sander said. "They will see service where they have never seen it before."
Sander also said those things will be implemented in 12-18 months.
But can the people of New York trust the MTA? The New York Times was quick to point out the March fare hikes that were supposed to go to MTA improvements, instead will go to the MTA's budget shortfalls thanks to a decline in city property tax revenues. So, in other words, there will be no improvements for now.
"There is no question there is a credibility issue," Sander said.
When asked if this ensures the improvements that the MTA said it is going to make will actually be made, Sander said, "No, it does not."
Sander pointed out the money congestion pricing will generate cannot cover all of the MTA's costs, but he lamented that this is essential to the city bigger fiscal picture.
"If the MTA goes down, the economy of NYC is in great risk," Sander said. "The MTA cannot go backwards. It cannot go back to the 1970 and '80s where we had derailment, where we had subway cars breaking down left and right… buses, rail, the same thing."
According to Sander, congestion pricing may be the only way NYC can maintain its competitive standing with cities like London and Shanghai. If congestion pricing is derailed, he says projects like the 2nd Avenue subway extension into Harlem, new signals on the "E," "F" and "R" lines, improvements to the 7 line, the Staten Island rail project, an overhaul of Jamaica Station and a new metro rail into Penn Station would all get put on ice.
"This is really the future of the region," Sander said. "The stakes couldn't be higher."
If congestion pricing goes into effect there's still the question of much money the MTA will actually receive. An $8 toll for driving below 60th Street could bring in an estimated $500 million per year.
But that does not include the cost of running the program.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
WCBSTV.com's Most Popular Pages