Congestion Pricing- Aftermath

Congestion Pricing (the plan to charge drivers from outside of Manhattan's business district $8 for driving south of 60th Street) died in the both the State Assembly and State Senate. Mayor Bloomberg's delusion that if it were brought to the floor for a vote from the full Assembly and State Senate and would pass, is on the cusp of insanity.

If in reality there was such groundswell of a desire to throw a regressive tax on themselves the constituents of the Assembly Majority and the Senate Majority wouldn't those sitting in the majority want to record the vote even if the congestion pricing plan eventually lost? How much confidence does Bloomberg have in the MTA? These are the same people that contiually announce that they have operating budget surpluses, but cannot seem to make ends meet to get get service improvements, projects done, or avoid a union strike (come on! Peter Kalikow must have an IQ of a cocker spaniel to brag about supluses while trying to give away the West Side Rail Yards to the Jets for a song and all a couple months before TWU's contract was due to be renegotiated in 2005.) The only thing that Bloomberg had a right to complain about is that the State Legislature should have figure out how to keep $330 million of the $340 million from the Federal DOT that were supposed to go towards transit improvements without the congestion pricing (or get by implementing drastically waterdown version of the congestion like charging only livery cabs at 2 in the morning.)

The Daily Politics: At Long Last, A Deal? (Updated x2)

The Daily Politics: At Long Last, A Deal? (Updated x2)

Sort of a deal on congestion pricing between the three men in the room will probably not make the mayor very happy.

Bloomberg Heading To Albany

The Daily Politics: Bloomberg Heading To Albany

Bllomberg could avoid a contentious fight with Speaker Silver and Assemblyman, and Senators from the city who oppose the the congestion pricing by thoroughly enforcing traffic laws. After a week of every commuter that drives into Manhattan getting a ticket for not using their turn signal, not driving within the painted lanes, and every other infraction that regular occurs when one drives into Manhattan would certainly give incentive for the commuters who drive to look towards mass transit as the alternative to getting $50-$125 tickets.

Congestion Pricing

The 2006-2007 legislative session comes to an end without doing anything about congestion pricing within Manhattan during business hours. The biggest complaint that came from elected officials has been that the people that would have to pay the $8/day would be the car owners in the outer boroughs and suburbs they represent. A question to those that believe $8 would be too onerous to the daily commuters... where are you parking for free?!? There is no where in Manhattan where these people are parking for less than $40/day so save your money and take the train or bus into the city.

This is the huge failure of Robert Moses a generation ago who refused to construct any mass transit infrastructure. So as the elected officials from State Sen Sabini and State Sen Padavan to Assemblyman William Brennan and Assemblyman Rory Lancman all oppose this common sense approach to solving traffic and encourage use of green transit solutions, the city and the greater New York metropolitan area suffocates from the exhaust and drown in the traffic.

The same legislators that refuse to create the revenue to fix mass transit claim the reason that congestion pricing should not take effect is because their needs to be mass transit improvement before hand. Proposing the Chicken-Egg paradox is simply ducking the issue. Anyone who opposes the congestion pricing simply wants the status quo to rule our lives and are practicing the type of politics that belittles us all.