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After years of debate, New York state has adopted congestion pricing to deal with traffic problems in New York City. Starting in 2021, fees will be imposed on all vehicles entering a pricing zone that covers lower Manhattan, from 60th Street at the southern edge of Central Park to the southernmost tip of the island.
This approach has succeeded in cities including London, Singapore and Stockholm. For scholars like me who focus on urban issues, New York's decision is welcome news. Properly used, congestion pricing can make crowded cities safer, cleaner and easier for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to navigate.
The details matter, including the size and timing of charges and the area that they cover. Congestion charges also raises equity issues, since rich people are best able to move closer to work or change their schedules to avoid the steepest costs.
Are congestion pricing plans the wave of the future in American cities?
(Score: 0, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 03 2019, @05:53PM
That's the point. You're thinking that this is some sort of suburban strip mall. It's not. You're talking about an area that during a work day is one of the most densely populated areas on the planet (~3 million people stuffed into ~6sq miles).
What's more, while there are food markets in that area, no one in their right mind would come from outside NYC to Midtown Manhattan to do their grocery shopping. And even if you live in that area *and* need to drive to get your groceries, as long as you stay in the area, there's no charge.
Even more, there are no *houses* there. Only apartment buildings. Not gated communities, apartment buildings. As such, most people couldn't store a month's worth of groceries in their 500sq. ft. apartments.
So, no. No businesses are going to go bust. You clearly have no idea about the area you're talking about and your ignorance is showing.
First off, most of that area isn't residential. Secondly, an extra ten dollars or so for a lorry full of *whatever* isn't going to raise prices all that much. Thirdly, the areas that are residential are *already* some of the most expensive in the US and the world. A few dollars here or there won't make a difference.
You ignorance is understandable if you aren't from the area, yet you insist on going on about something you have zero knowledge about. Good show!
No. It's a direct charge on those who choose to drive their cars into that area. Those who live in that area would be bonkers to drive around that area, but even if they did, as long as they stay within the boundaries, they wouldn't be charged at all.
What's more, the area in question contains several zip codes with per-capita incomes in the top ten in the entire US.
This is like shooting fish in a barrel.
You mean the public transportation authorities ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Transportation_Authority [wikipedia.org] , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NJ_Transit [wikipedia.org] ) in the region? In fact, the major selling point of the plan is to use the revenue to improve public transportation service and keep prices down.
Man, you have no idea what you're talking about and spent quite a bit of time spouting bullshit. I bet you're lots of fun at parties!
This will have the opposite effect. Since there will be fewer cars and less congestion, *more* people will want to live in that area.
What's more, we could use some negative housing market movement, given that Manhattan real estate is the most expensive in the US [cnbc.com]. And the area covered by the congestion pricing plan contains the most expensive real estate in Manhattan. Don't believe me? check it out for yourself. [realtor.com]
That's exactly the situation in the area covered by congestion pricing. The big difference is that in NYC, the *only* area that's covered by this (~6sq miles vs. 302sq miles for the whole city) is largely commercial (office buildings mostly), and the residential sections are among the most expensive in the US.
Your experience with London (a wonderful place, BTW -- I really had a blast when I was there a few years back) is *not* applicable to the tiny area of NYC covered by this plan.
Come visit us. You'll find that this is a wonderful place and the congestion pricing plan will make it even better.