![]() While the planning for this so called congestion pricing was based on a maximum toll of $23 a day, the environmental assessment made clear that there would be considerable variation.įor example, to mitigate pollution in the Bronx and other areas where trucks might divert to avoid tolls, the MTA committed to “a discount of at least 50 percent on the peak toll” between midnight and 4 am. The MTA Board, a majority of its members appointed by the governor, must then approve the final plan. The Traffic Mobility Review Board is a six-member committee, set up by the MTA to recommend the actual level of tolls and decide on hours, exemptions and discounts. “Now that this program has the green light from the federal government, I look forward to my continued partnership with the MTA, the Traffic Mobility Review Board, and community leaders to finally implement congestion pricing without delay,” said Congressman Gerald Nadler (D-NY). The MTA posted the documents here: īut key supporters were already celebrating. The public has 30 days to review the environmental assessment, after which the Federal Highway Administration will decide whether to make final their tentative judgment that the tolling system would have no significant negative environmental impact. The transit agencies then made a revised version of the assessment public, which showed that from an earlier draft they had added some $207 million in measures to mitigate pollution caused by cars and trucks diverted around Manhattan by the new tolling system. But the Trump administration slow walked the whole thing by refusing to answer the seemingly simple question of what kind of environmental review was needed.īut the other day the Biden Administration, through the Federal Highway Administration, said that the lesser of two levels of review, an Environmental Assessment by the MTA and city and state transportation agencies was legally sufficient. The MTA had hoped to already be collecting this money, about a billion dollars a year, since the legislature approved the idea in 2019. “The bottom line from our standpoint: congestion pricing means less traffic, cleaner air, safer streets, better transit,” said Lieber. New York would become the first city in the United States to do this, although the practice of charging cars and trucks to drive into core business districts has been in effect for some time in London, Singapore and Stockholm. Most of the revenue collected from drivers for entering Manhattan below 6oth street would go to the MTA to fund $15 billion worth of bonds for maintenance and improvement to transit infrastructure. “This is a big milestone for New York,” said the chief executive of the MTA, Janno Lieber. Which means that if there are no further delays–and that is a big if, as opponents continue to rally against the plan–motorists could have to start paying to drive into Manhattan’s core business district by this time next year. ![]() ![]() The political gridlock that has stalled congestion pricing in Manhattan for more than four years may, finally, be clearing. ![]()
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