Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Year : 2, Issue : 19
With congestion pricing gantries set to be activated on June 30 in NYC, one major roadblock remains: seven lawsuits filed in federal court to block it from happening.
Plaintiffs range from New Jersey to Long Island to Lower Manhattan, where Susan Lee, president of the New Yorkers Against Congestion Pricing, is hoping to block the MTA from flicking the on switch next month. “We are moving ahead, we have a lot of support from everyday New Yorkers,” Lee said.
While the MTA has conducted studies on the impact of congestion pricing, Lee says she wants the agency to specifically look at how Lower Manhattan would be impacted – both environmentally and economically – especially as congestion pricing offers no breaks to drivers on weekends when neighborhoods like Little Italy and Chinatown do the bulk of their business.
Oral arguments for that lawsuit start next Friday. Even with the seven lawsuits, many still believe it’ll move forward on June 30.
“So far, everything looks like congestion pricing will be starting June 30,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, who appeared Monday morning on Good Day New York. Rodriguez said not only does he expect congestion pricing to start next month, but that from bus lanes to bike lanes, the DOT is paving the way with improvements to non-car options.
“It’s to be sure that we have good busway,” Rodriguez said. “It’s to make sure we have the bike lane, to make sure that those who come from the outer borough area to make their life more easy to come to the central part of Manhattan.”
Meanwhile, the delays brought on by the lawsuits are already being felt, as the MTA has already put a hold on big capital projects. According to officials, it’s just a matter of time for those delays to impact service.
Source: Fox5NY
