The federal government’s decision last week to green-light the MTA’s environmental assessment of congestion pricing — a plan to toll motor vehicles on 60th St. and points south in Manhattan — virtually ensures the program will be implemented.
“New Yorkers want to know, what does this mean?” MTA chair Janno Lieber said Friday. “And the answer is less congestion, better air quality, safer streets, better transit. That’s what this policy means. That’s what congestion pricing is going to deliver.”
But many details about how congestion pricing will affect New Yorkers remain to be worked out.
Most likely April 2024. The MTA’s release of the environmental assessment on Friday kicked off off a 30-day public appraisal period required by law.
If the federal government gives a final sign-off to the plan at the end of the 30-day period, work can begin on building the tolling infrastructure. The MTA has contracted with a firm called TransCore to build the equipment needed to charge drivers, and the company has 310 days to complete the project.
We don’t yet know. The price is to be suggested by a six-member panel called the Traffic Mobility Review Board and ultimately approved by the MTA.
Lieber has said the toll will fall somewhere in the range of “$9 to $23.″ The documents released Friday commit to several discounts, including at least 50% off for drivers traveling between midnight and 4 a.m., and a 25% discount for drivers making under $50,000 after they’ve already made 10 full-price trips within a calendar month.
The Transit Mobility Review Board can begin meeting after the federal sign-off, which is expected to follow the 30-day public appraisal period. Those meetings will be public.
Vehicles will be charged on on 60th St. and points south in Manhattan.
Exceptions to the congestion zone will include the FDR Drive, the West Side Highway, and the Battery Park underpass that connects the two. Surface-level portions of the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel that…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply