Jun 12, 2007 6:15 am US/Eastern
Congestion Plan Could Add Resident Permits
by Tamsen Fadal
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
People who live above 86th Street in Manhattan or in the other four boroughs might be paying the price for Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan.
The mayor is trying to reduce traffic coming into the city, but will his plan for the so-called Congestion Pricing actually hurt neighborhoods like the ones above 86th Street, where people will try to park to avoid paying the proposed fee?
There could be a solution.
Some drivers want to put the brakes on the mayor's proposed plan to charge $8 for cars and $21 for trucks entering Manhattan south of 86th Street from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays. It's all in an effort to reduce traffic and the level of emissions citywide.
But some city officials say the proposed fee will cause parking problems in neighborhoods that could be flooded by drivers trying to avoid forking over the money.
That's why residential-only parking permits are now being considered.
According to published reports, the permits would be in line with other cities around the country that charge between $25 and $35 per year.
Some of the neighborhoods that have requested special permits include:
--Manhattan above 86th Street
--Long Island City
--Astoria
--Sunnyside, Queens
--Downtown Brooklyn
--And Park Slope, Brooklyn
One of the mayor's biggest challenges will be to convince the state Assembly to go along with the plan. Another hearing is scheduled for Friday.
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