Mar 24, 2008 9:49 am US/Eastern
NYC Council Meets To Discuss Congestion Pricing
Governor Paterson Supports Mayor Bloomberg's Plan
Reporting
Jay Dow
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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The City Council is meeting to discuss congestion pricing, as the plan receives federal support, and the promise of hundreds of millions of federal transportation dollars.
AP
After months of research, the City Council will take up its most substantive debate yet on congestion pricing. All of this comes with firm support from Gov. David Paterson.
"If we could get that done, I think it would be a great thing for the city. But it's very difficult. There are a lot of moving parts, there is an MTA budget we have to fully finance," Paterson said.
To help finance the public transit budget, $350 million in federal transportation money was promised to the city, provided that congestion pricing is passed.
It's no guarantee, particulary beacause of what the plan would mean for drivers. Between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays, they would be charged $8 to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street.
A new Quinnipiac University poll finds New York state voters are against congestion pricing, unless money from the traffic fees is used for better mass transit around the New York City metro area.
Supporters said the plan would raise several billion dollars for mass transit, and critics argue the burden would fall unfairly on working class families.
"I don't know if I can afford it, but it does make sense in a way, in an unfortunate way. But if it's too much traffic then at some point you need to control it somehow," driver Yuval Tal said.
Driver Larry Sinou thinks the plan is excessive. "That's a little exorbitant. It's a little out of line, especially for a working man. That's the way I look at it."
Supporters of the congestion pricing plan are expected to rally at City Hall in advance of the Council hearing.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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