Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 12
Fox News : The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) approved New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s congestion pricing program for Midtown and Lower Manhattan on Monday, in a 12-1 vote.
Congestion pricing would commence in January, and institute a video-enforced toll on newly-built gantries surrounding the city’s core. Traffic moving below 60th Street and Central Park, and entering from New Jersey, Brooklyn or Queens — except for via the RFK Triboro Bridge and George Washington Bridge — would be subject to the toll.
Hochul previously said she would like to see a slightly lower price point than the original $15 — around $9, citing inflation — and MTA Chairman Janno Lieber suggested last week that he was open to seeing whether a lower toll could achieve the same revenue goals.
On Monday, the MTA agreed to a phased-in congestion pricing plan that will ultimately result in Manhattan drivers getting hit with a higher priced toll by 2031.
Lieber called the return of congestion pricing “huge for the MTA,” arguing that those who utilize public transit or drive into the city, as well as businesses, would benefit from the plan because it will reduce traffic.
As for the money, Lieber told reporters after the vote that the approved $9 toll will still allow the MTA to generate $15 billion to put toward capital projects, though it may take a little longer than expected from a $15 toll.
But with Hochul’s full endorsement, he explained, the MTA has the certainty that it will be fully funded for projects.
The lawmakers claimed Hochul is acting now because the move failed to engender goodwill to elected Democrats this past election, adding that the MTA — which falls under state auspices — is running a massive deficit in part due to fare evasion and internal waste and fraud.
