Nov 11, 2005 10:14 pm US/Eastern
Manhattan Motorists Charged For Congestion?
While Not A Done Deal, Fees For Driving In Midtown May Be On Tap
by John Slattery
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Trying to ease traffic congestion in Manhattan is a dream for most people. Now, there's an idea to make it a reality, to have motorists pay for the privilege of driving in the most heavily trafficked parts of Manhattan during peak hours.
840,000 cars travel south of 60th Street on an average weekday. And the idea of charging motorists several dollars a day is not to generate revenue for the city, but to reduce congestion.
The concept is called "congestion pricing." And it's being floated by the city's major business association, the Partnership for New York City, as an incentive to carpool or use mass transit.
The goal is to smooth the flow of traffic, reduce delays, help beleaguered buses to move along and improve air quality.
Andrew Darrell, the regional director of Environmental Defense, a leading environmental advocacy group, says the concept would vastly improve New York City air quality.
"About, 80 percent of the air cancer risk as we sit here today comes from the tailpipe of a car or truck," Darrell said. "So, bringing that down is tremendously important to the people of the city."
Darrell says in London congestion pricing has led to a 20 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and a 12 percent cut in emissions of harmful particulates and nitrogen oxides, which contribute to smog.
The idea began in London's financial district in February 2003. Under the plan, drivers are charged a daylong flat fee of $14 a car to enter the congestion zone. Officials say the new system has reduced traffic by a third, doubled the speed of buses and reduced air pollution.
The way it works is a driver pays on-line, by phone or at vending machines to drive in the congestion zone from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Then video cameras, some 700 located around the zone, compare license plates to a database of motorists who pay by 10 p.m. that night.
In New York, a plan might call for two-tiered system -- $7 for cars that enter the zone below 60th Street, and $4 for cars that start and end trips within the zone.
Behind the wheel of an SUV in Manhattan, a woman in her 40s said of the possible pricing, "That would be too much. A dollar would be too much."
But Dave Gomez, a man in his 30s, sees wisdom in the idea.
"I think it's a good idea," Gomez said. "It would cut down on congestion. They do it in London. The do it in Singapore. They should do it for New York."
Edward Skyler, A spokesman for Mayor Bloomberg, says the mayor would like some type of plan, but it isn't on the mayor's second-term agenda.
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