Congestion pricing is back on the table.
The de Blasio administration, which has so far refused to take a position on the controversial traffic-busting plan, said it will consider the measure to help the MTA out of its $14 billion capital budget hole."Given the urgency of the situation, the City is ready and willing to work with the state to develop a sound, long-term solution (to the budget hole)," First Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris wrote to the MTA in a letter released Wednesday morning.Shorris, who is Mayor de Blasio's top aide, said a number of options for solving the crisis have been considered in recent months, including raising money through the Move NY plan. That proposal, from former city traffic commissioner Samuel Schwartz, would add tolls to East River bridges to help pay for mass transit.
A plan to add such tolls pushed by ex-Mayor Michael Bloomberg failed several years ago because of strong opposition from outer-borough politicians.
Those bridges are free, and New Yorkers who use them felt it was unfair to ask city residents to pay to drive from one part of the city to another.
The plan was modeled after systems in other cities — such as London and Singapore — known as "congestion pricing." The idea is that charging drivers for using roads and bridges, and charging more during peak hours, will reduce demand and eliminate some congestion.
Schwartz's plan is also a congestion pricing scheme, but in addition to raising tolls on East River bridges, it would also reduce tolls on other bridges that currently charge riders. That could make Move NY more palatable to voters than the Bloomberg-era congestion pricing model.
Schwartz writes the Daily News "Gridlock Sam" column.
The Move NY plan would raise an estimated $1.5 billion for roads and mass transit, in addition to cutting traffic snarls. Like de Blasio, Gov. Cuomo have so far refused to take a position on Move NY.
The mayor's sudden willingness to consider Move NY — which many experts think could combat the city's worsening traffic woes — comes as the City Council is preparing to vote on capping the number of for-hire vehicle services like Uber, citing the serious congestion problems.In the letter to the MTA, Shorris also says the city is open to discussing raising taxes dedicated to the MTA.
Earlier this year, de Blasio increased city funding to the MTA — which is controlled and primarily funded by the state — to $657 million over five years.
It was $157 million more than the city had planned on giving, but the Cuomo-controlled MTA still wasn't happy and asked for $2.5 billion to pay for projects like the Second Ave. subway.
The MTA didn't seem too impressed with the city's latest peace offering either.
MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg said the city has been giving the MTA a "paltry" amount of money for decades, and needs to step it up because it is the "primary beneficiary of MTA services."
"While we welcome the city's first response to the proposal the MTA made some 12 weeks ago, in the meantime the MTA has been working closely with Governor Cuomo's office on a plan to meet the essential capital needs of a system that is critical to the city's daily life and economic strength of the region," Lisberg said. "The paltry amount the city has provided for decades — especially given the City's recent historic surplus — can't continue if we are to maintain a safe and reliable transit network, let alone improve and expand rider services."
OH NO!! will not work in this city! bad idea!