Congestion Pricing?

New York City is the nation's most populated city. However, it is not regarded as a "car city", but rather the American standard of "working mass transit." Unfortunately working mass transit, or at least the American model, has numerous flaws that have been exposed by COVID-19. Currently, the consumer-based models of mass transit are hemorrhaging as many Americans have not returned to work on a regular or daily basis. Center cities now deserted due to remote plans fail to have the numbers needed to keep transit systems out of the red. And as mass transit fails, other parts of the urban economy will also fail. Occupancy in malls, offices and other retail spaces will continue to decrease unless people are pushed back to center city business districts. While San Francisco represents one extreme of the failure of the center city, Manhattan represents another.  Although the density of New York City, particularly Manhattan, will not turn mid-town into a ghost town, another event is occurring. Slowly in Manhattan, and more rapidly throughout the other parts of the city, the decline in the usage of mass transit is leading to the increase of cars, motorcycles, e-bikes and other forms of personal transit. In contrast to San Francisco where the there is a decline of the city's air pollution, New York's is rapidly rising.

I'm old enough to remember when the concept of Congestion Pricing was first introduced in New York City. It was a novel idea, and one that had a great deal of merit. According to Mayor Bloomberg in 2007, Congestion Pricing would limit traffic, cut down air pollution, and help fund mass transit.  The earliest ideas of this plan would create a zone below 59th Street in Manhattan and all traffic below the zone that entered Manhattan would pay a toll.

The Bloomberg idea was attached to an even earlier idea. In many respects for every step we take forward, we take two steps backwards. Air pollution was a problem in the majority of American cities in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. That generation could be blamed for the critical thrusts of the current climate crisis. Mid-century urban America could be characterized by dirty streets, litterbugs, and strong fumes from cars, trucks and buses. 

Although the introduction of lead-free gasoline and the electrification of some trains and buses started to reduce the smog, during the late 1970s and early 1980s, American cities faced additional pressures, this time financial ones.  New York was one of the hardest hit municipalities.  At the point when the city was faced with financial collapse, there were proposals to place tolls on all bridges and tunnels throughout the entire city. In essence, these were the forerunners to congestion pricing. Critics blasted the ideas largely because they would cause traffic jams, not because they would or would not yield the desired amounts of revenue. Surprisingly, few pundits focused on air pollution in spite of the city facing compliance with Clean Air legislation.

So, when the first true Congestion Pricing scheme was introduced, air pollution again took a back seat to costs. And, there were two major problems. Foremost was the implementation of the technology needed to "toll" vehicles entering Manhattan, and second was what could be an appropriate charge. Many urban planners looked to London as a model. However, London was geographically different from New York City.  The former was built on the medieval model of urban rings and it was easy to focus on rings to devise a band around the center city.  Was Congestion Pricing focusing on Manhattan an underdeveloped concept?

It took a decade for Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo to follow Mayor Bloomberg's lead and push ahead on a Congestion Pricing scheme.  In 2017, the technology was finally available to make the plan workable. Support from civic groups and public organizations further encouraged the acceleration of political activism. The two New York politicians also promoted the plan as helping the environment and mass transit. Decreasing traffic seemed possible. However, by 2019, the plan stalled over political disagreements.

Emerging from COVID-19, New Jersey's politicians launched a strong campaign to stop the current Congestion Pricing plan. Their argument is that drivers from New Jersey will be overcharged. They will have to pay large Hudson River tolls and then the Congestion Pricing fee. It is also noted that traffic might be diverted to the George Washington Bridge to avoid the Congestion Pricing fees. This would probably increase air pollution in Bergen County.

Right now, Congestion Pricing is at a standstill. New Jersey is against the plan and some New Yorkers are also against the scheme. Congestion Pricing will likely be decided in the courts. In the meantime, the questions of addressing increasing pollution and financing mass transit remain in limbo.