Aug 13, 2007 5:59 pm US/Eastern
Feds Agree To Fund NYC Congestion Pricing
Bloomberg's Plan To Charge $8 Still Very Much Alive
WASHINGTON (CBS/AP) ―
-
-
Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan got a big boost on Aug. 13 when Congressional aides said the government will fund a pilot program designed to reduce traffic in New York City.
CBS
New York's plan to reduce traffic by charging tolls to drivers entering the busiest part of Manhattan will get a major boost from the government, which has agreed to fund the pilot project, congressional aides said Monday.
If implemented, the congestion pricing scheme proposed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg would be the first of its kind in the nation. London and Singapore have similar toll programs.
For weeks, New York officials haggled over whether to approve the mayor's idea in time to qualify for a share of $1.2 billion in federal aid. State leaders eventually struck a compromise keeping the plan alive, but it was unclear if the squabbles and delays soured federal transportation authorities on New York's novel attempt to reduce gridlock.
Bloomberg's plan would charge cars $8 and trucks $21 to enter Manhattan south of 86th Street on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has been considering which five out of nine cities will receive a major infusion of cash for local traffic reduction plans, and Secretary Mary Peters was scheduled to make an announcement Tuesday morning.
Though the dollar value of the federal aid for New York was still unclear, agency officials notified congressional staff Monday evening that New York had qualified for the Urban Partner program, which paves the way for grant money, according to aides who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement. New York had hoped for as much as $537 million from Washington.
A Bloomberg spokesman, Stu Loeser, declined to comment Monday.
The toll plan aims to ease the crunch of worsening rush hour traffic and improve the city's air quality by cutting down on emissions.
Opponents argue that it won't affect driver behavior enough to improve air quality or overall traffic patterns. They also say it amounts to a tax on middle-class New Yorkers who live outside Manhattan.
Even with the federal boost, there are still plenty of potential potholes.
The decision does not guarantee funding, and it was still unclear if the deal struck weeks ago by New York leaders would hold as the tolls come closer to reality. The feds also want to see any traffic reduction plans implemented by March 2009.
The deal struck by New York state leaders was an agreement to form a commission to examine the overall concept of reducing traffic. The primary plan that the commission will study is Bloomberg's proposal, through hearings, testimony and reviews of every aspect of traffic congestion. The group is to make a recommendation by the end of January.
The commission does not have to approve the congestion pricing plan; if it doesn't, it must recommend another solution that projects at least a 6 percent decrease in traffic, the reduction forecast by Bloomberg's plan.
One of the other cities competing for federal aid is Minneapolis, where divers are still trying to find the remains of four missing motorists from a catastrophic bridge collapse. Nine people are already confirmed dead in the Aug. 1 collapse.
The other cities are: Atlanta, Denver, San Francisco, San Diego, Miami, Seattle and Chicago.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Comments