Mayor Mike readies $8 congestion fee for NYC drivers
New York's mayor, Mike Bloomberg, is ready to steal a page from his London counterpart's handbook and announce plans to hit drivers who bring their cars into Manhattan below 86th street with an $8 congestion charge in a bid to ease gridlock in the city's crowded midtown business district. The fee would include the existing bridge and tunnel tolls drivers currently have to pay. Some people are understandably upset, and opposition groups are said to be forming in the outer boroughs. Naturally, there will be exceptions. Taxis are unlikely to pay the fee, and there's word that drivers who avoid the business district while heading to other parts of the city could be exempt as well. The report also mentions possible discounts for individuals who live and/or work in the impacted zone. Mayor Bloomberg is expected to detail the specifics of his proposal in a speech he's giving tomorrow, and we'll follow up after we've heard all the particulars.
If the mayor does set the plan into motion, it'll need to be improved by the state legislature, meaning those of us (ahem) in the NYC media market are going to have the opportunity to watch the political fireworks unfold during the local evening newscasts. This is gonna get interesting.
UPDATE 4/22: Ahead of today's speech, WNYC (New York Public Radio) reported that drivers who use the FDR drive and West Side Highway would be exempted from the fee. The mayor stated as much in his weekly radio program on WABC. More on the proposal as we get the info.
[Source: WCBS TV, New York]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Deezee 5:12PM (4/21/2007)
Some day you'll only be able to drive in the city if you're wealthy.
I cant wait. You peons don't deserve to use the same road as me.
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Andrew 5:43PM (4/21/2007)
but the 59th street bridge doesn't have a toll. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO they're going to foil my plans of not paying tolls.
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HotRodzNKustoms 5:47PM (4/21/2007)
This is crazy, this is no longer the land of the free, it is the land of the $8 congestion fee. It will cost you $2,080 a year if you have to drive through during weekdays all year.
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Nick 5:48PM (4/21/2007)
Why is there even private vehicular traffic in New York- all you need is taxis and trucks, everything else is just a major PITA.
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G.Samuelm 5:58PM (4/21/2007)
and for those of us who live there, or have family there ah van-f$#*-ing-tastic. Thanks Mike, you're a damn billionare but I'm just a grad student trying to get by. You lost a vote here.
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LaughinTooHard 5:59PM (4/21/2007)
Well seeing as most Manhantanites HATE Bridge and Tunnel trolls (what we call all the weekend tourists) it might cut down the the drunken mom's and other various idiots who drive into NYC and crash on the way home.
If you live near NYC, take MASS TRANSIT. If you don't then $8 will not impact your trip to the sights in NYC.
I welcome it, and hope they start tomorrow. Now what they DO that money is far more interesting story than coming into NYC with a car every weekend for a year.
This is a good idea for the environment, a good idea for the pedestrians and a good idea to keep weekend visitors confined to the Metro North and Long Island Transit system. NJ, you are otta luck. But you are used to NYC envy and the price you pay to pretend to be a New Yorker.
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Greg A. 6:07PM (4/21/2007)
#1 "Some day you'll only be able to drive in the city if you're wealthy."
That day has been upon us for quite some time. You think it's cheap to park in the proposed congestion fee zone?
#5 "...I'm just a grad student trying to get by."
I call bullplop, unless you're also a trustafarian. Grad students who go to school or work in NYC can't afford to own a car without mommy and daddy's help. Not that they need one.
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Lucas 6:51PM (4/21/2007)
Wow. I'm not for the congestion charge although I'm surprised to see nothing written about the potentially positive environmental impact. All you've written about is "the opposition." I guess I'll have to go to Autoblog Green for that coverage.
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me 6:49PM (4/21/2007)
This will never pass. While Manhattanites might like it, those of us in the the other four boroughs will vehemently protest. Mass transit is not accessible everywhere. For example, there is no subway on Staten Island and the subway lines in Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn are not that extensive. A person living in Red Hook has to travel for 30 minutes by car in order reach a subway line that reaches downtown Manhattan. I would also like to point out that many of yuppies and 'sex and the city types' that live in Manhattan take taxis to get around and do not use public transportation.
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tpp 6:56PM (4/21/2007)
I live in the burps of New York, and I'm for anything that encourages (or forces) people to use mass transit systems. The money should be directed to making improvements on the MTA, LIRR, Metro North and PATH mass transit systems.
Go Mayor!
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Ken 8:04PM (4/21/2007)
Like others said - this just becomes a poor people tax. If you are poor, you cannot drive in the city. It just makes life easier for the wealthy.
That said, I am not against it for that reason - but its funny how this ends up being a blessing in disguise for the rich!
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mk 9:26PM (4/21/2007)
Just hand over a bit more freedom and money, and control to the government, and sleep good in your nieveté and lack of responsibility.
Bloomberg is trying to take freedoms away, and this is not the only example. just look up his mayor's council on guns, that is trying to change the rules far beyond NYC, and using dubious means to do so. That isn't the specific topic here, but what is to say that this congestion fee business is on the level, either? ...aside from being appropriate or a legal tax to levy.
What about people with political office makes them think they can take away the freedom of the people they serve through laws or taxes.
#3 is right on. No longer the land of the free. Now just the home of the "controlled". Makes me sick that this is just one symptom of a potentially leathal disease.
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JC3 10:00PM (4/21/2007)
#6.I understand how You feel.All us real residents of the Hamptons have to put up with all the New Yorkers(weekend tourists) who come out and pretend to be from the Hamptons and bring the very same problems and nasty attitudes to our backyard.Food for thought.
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Snix 10:41PM (4/21/2007)
Are motorcyles and scooters exempt? Looks like a good time to buy an old Vespa or a new scooter. Or if it gets real draconian, get one of those weedwhacker engine powered bicycles. (Why no, officer, it's just a bicycle! Watch me pedal away!)
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Bill 10:44PM (4/21/2007)
When London did this, I thought it was crazy, now I'm willing to think about it. This is an auto enthusiasts blog, and we all love our cars, but Manhattan is one place in America where it truly makes sense NOT to have a car, and a car is more of a hassle than a benefit. Yes, it is an additional cost, but time is money, and while it would hurt some people, it could potentially be an economic benefit in terms of saved time, and faster and more economical movement of goods and services.
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mt 10:56PM (4/21/2007)
That really sucks. I don't feel like paying $8 extra for a late night drive in Manhattan.
Besides, all that will happen is the same thing that happens every time the tolls rise. Usual Midtown Tunnel commuters will start taking the Queensboro to avoid the tolls and clog up the east side even worse. Not to mention the backup that would form in Long Island City at Van Dam St and Queens Blvd. The LIE is slow enough without people trying to squeeze their way into Exit 15 which isn't at all designed for large amounts of traffic.
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Jared 11:43PM (4/21/2007)
I live in brooklyn, my sister and I all go into the city by subway and then have to deal with enormous traffic whenever we decide to drive anywhere b/c everyone is trying to get into manhattan or leave it by car[- so this a good idea. -However I do think this fee should only be enforced during rush hours.
Point being is that you should take mass transit. and ohh yeah f%*k the tourists they suck, and ppl from NJ too frekin weekend warriors, lol. while i am at it ppl from Long Island should also stay out of brooklyn to loud and to full of themselves. isn't there anything to do in Long Island?
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JC3 12:09AM (4/22/2007)
#18 Brooklyn. Is there anything to do on Long Island? If you mean stealing hubcaps...No.(just joking )
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big a 1:00AM (4/22/2007)
yea now we gonna have super congested subways(oh wait i 4got, we already have that) and the streets will still be flooded with yellows since their gonna have more business,,, this is one really dumb idea, all bloomberg wants to do is charge people for everything as if the money is going to his own pocket, if he hates nyc traffic so much he should run for a major in another city
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Yep 3:20AM (4/22/2007)
8. . . While Manhattanites might like it, those of us in the the other four boroughs will vehemently protest.
Now why would the “Manhattanites” like it? I pay a fortune to live on the Upper West Side. You guys drive in, make parking a nightmare, clog up the streets and drive like almost hitting pedestrians was a sport. Think of it this way it now costs $48 instead of $40 to drive in per trip. It costs a lot to live and work here, if you don’t like it do us all a favor and move to Arizona.
This will fight congestion and cut down on harmful emissions both short and long term.
13 . . . “Bloomberg is trying to take freedoms away, and this is not the only example. just look up his mayor's council on guns, that is trying to change the rules far beyond NYC, and using dubious means to do so.”
When the federal assault weapons ban was not renewed our police officers saw a huge spike in the number of “spray and pray” incidents. Guess what you can’t get your hands on a suitcase a-bomb at Wal-Mart and you should not be able to get an ak-47 either. Innocent people are getting killed, families are being shattered just because a bunch of paranoid nuts don’t want to fill out a form and receive a background check.
Mayor Bloomberg saving lives, he is going after scumbag out of state dealers who have come to the attention of the NYPD after a murder. Sends out undercover buyers to find that they are breaking major laws to stop out of state gun trafficking. From there the pit-bull lawyers take the field, and don’t let go until the run the jerk off out of business or agrees to have his sales audited from now on.
But my favorite has to be the $1,000 dollar reward leading to the recovery of a unlicensed handgun with conviction.
All I have to say is Bloomberg 08 and we will let you nuts vote for Brownback or whoever you think will up hold your culture of life (read death)
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