Road Pricing in Manhattan: Unnecessary!
In today's New York Times, Sewell Chan suggested that "congestion pricing" (as it's currently know in London) may be in the offing for New York City. Mayor Mike: don't look upon your landslide victory as a mandate for de-caring Manhattan. Proposed by the Partnership for New York City (presumably at the behest of Bloomberg), the plan would "charge drivers for entering the most heavily trafficked parts of Manhattan at the busiest times of the day," but would not apply to the West Side Highway or the FDR Drive. (HELLO!? WHAT!? STUPID! BAD IDEA!)
While this may be successful in London and Singapore...and the model may be appropriate for other U.S. cities (e.g., Los Angeles), New York already has sufficient car-curbing measures. We've got bridges and tunnels galore that become downright impassable at during the "congestion" times. In addition, the roads leading into Manhattan (many of which shrink to one or two lanes before approaching a bridge or a tunnel), are already too small to carry more than a reasonable amount of vehicles per minute into the City. The way this program is structured, it seems like it will function more as a way to dole out idling for those who wind up trapped in certain city wards for extended periods of time.
Yes, I admit, it's a little surprising for an anti-trafficist such as myself to be against road-pricing, but the congestion-time driving disincentives in Manhattan are legion anyway. Generally speaking, road pricing makes sense...but it makes less sense IN Manhattan. Between existing congestion on inbound bridges and tunnels, staggering costs of parking, lack of availability of space, and the sorry state of the regional Manhattan-feeding infrastructure, one would have to be fairly desperate to drive into Manhattan during the proposed congetion pricing times anyway. While adding city congestion load costs onto the already breathtaking expenses incurred by most inbound car commuters would likely result in a smaller number of cars driving within Manhattan, it would further isolate the city from its suburbs and the rest of America -- the hand that feeds it! Those who mainatin that Manhattan already has too much of a "car culture" would do well to explore traffic patterns in some of America's other large cities. By comparison, there is nary a "car culture" to speak of in the City.
Is this a veiled red state/blue state battle? Perhaps the congestion surcharge should only be levied against pickup trucks? Against Pennsylvanians? (Why are there so many of them parked in Queens, now that I mention it?) It's un-American to restrict peoples' freedom of movement in their cars through fee-based (class-based?) policies. It's also un-American to impose infrastructural constraints on peoples' freedom of movements in their cars by providing low-quality roads. If there's any road pricing to be done in the region, it should be on the roads that deliver cars into Manhtattan. Most in a terrible state of repair, these roads are in serious need of upgrades and often seem to carry motorists to areas NEAR but not IN Manhattan. Ask any Long Islander what happens to Westbound traffic on the LIE once s/he passes Lefrak City and you'll discover that it most always disappears (well before the final approach to Manhattan the midtown tunnel).
Raise the tolls and create more ring roads surrounding the City, but (to paraphrase William Jennings Bryan) you shall not press upon the tires of motorists this crown of thorns!
While this may be successful in London and Singapore...and the model may be appropriate for other U.S. cities (e.g., Los Angeles), New York already has sufficient car-curbing measures. We've got bridges and tunnels galore that become downright impassable at during the "congestion" times. In addition, the roads leading into Manhattan (many of which shrink to one or two lanes before approaching a bridge or a tunnel), are already too small to carry more than a reasonable amount of vehicles per minute into the City. The way this program is structured, it seems like it will function more as a way to dole out idling for those who wind up trapped in certain city wards for extended periods of time.
Yes, I admit, it's a little surprising for an anti-trafficist such as myself to be against road-pricing, but the congestion-time driving disincentives in Manhattan are legion anyway. Generally speaking, road pricing makes sense...but it makes less sense IN Manhattan. Between existing congestion on inbound bridges and tunnels, staggering costs of parking, lack of availability of space, and the sorry state of the regional Manhattan-feeding infrastructure, one would have to be fairly desperate to drive into Manhattan during the proposed congetion pricing times anyway. While adding city congestion load costs onto the already breathtaking expenses incurred by most inbound car commuters would likely result in a smaller number of cars driving within Manhattan, it would further isolate the city from its suburbs and the rest of America -- the hand that feeds it! Those who mainatin that Manhattan already has too much of a "car culture" would do well to explore traffic patterns in some of America's other large cities. By comparison, there is nary a "car culture" to speak of in the City.
Is this a veiled red state/blue state battle? Perhaps the congestion surcharge should only be levied against pickup trucks? Against Pennsylvanians? (Why are there so many of them parked in Queens, now that I mention it?) It's un-American to restrict peoples' freedom of movement in their cars through fee-based (class-based?) policies. It's also un-American to impose infrastructural constraints on peoples' freedom of movements in their cars by providing low-quality roads. If there's any road pricing to be done in the region, it should be on the roads that deliver cars into Manhtattan. Most in a terrible state of repair, these roads are in serious need of upgrades and often seem to carry motorists to areas NEAR but not IN Manhattan. Ask any Long Islander what happens to Westbound traffic on the LIE once s/he passes Lefrak City and you'll discover that it most always disappears (well before the final approach to Manhattan the midtown tunnel).
Raise the tolls and create more ring roads surrounding the City, but (to paraphrase William Jennings Bryan) you shall not press upon the tires of motorists this crown of thorns!
posted by Matty at 10:49 AM
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