Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Congestion Pricing

A city-enacted version of the Move NY toll reform plan would cut traffic and improve bus service, but Mayor de Blasio, shown here talking up his ferry system, has expressed no interest in it. Photo: Michael Appleton/NYC Mayor’s Office

Top Legal Expert Concludes NYC Has Power to Toll Its Own Roads and Bridges

By Charles Komanoff | Jul 6, 2017 | 8 Comments

One of New York City’s preeminent jurists, Frederick A.O. Schwarz Jr., affirmed today that the city possesses full legal authority to toll its own roads and bridges and thus does not require state approval to implement congestion pricing.

Photo: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images via Wikimedia Commons

No, Traffic Congestion Is Not “Self-Correcting”

By Charles Komanoff | Jun 7, 2017 | 38 Comments

Calling congestion "self-correcting" is a convenient way to steer the subject away from congestion pricing. The argument is that drivers can bail when congestion "gets bad enough." Problem solved -- without collective (governmental) action requiring political leadership. Let's unpack that.

New York as it was ... and as it will likely be.

Trottenberg Offers Congestion Solutions, But de Blasio Administration Won’t Touch Toll Reform

By David Meyer | Jun 5, 2017 | 19 Comments

In light of a new legal analysis that concluded NYC can toll its own streets without waiting for Albany, the Move New York campaign has proposed a "home rule" version of its road pricing plan that would charge $2.75 to drive across the four East River bridges and a 60th Street cordon and tax for-hire vehicle and taxi trips in the densest parts of Manhattan. But despite a supportive City Council, the de Blasio administration isn't adding road pricing to its agenda.

Some 45 percent of city households own cars, but only around 30 percent of New Yorkers drive or carpool to work. Photo: Roman Kruglov/Flickr

A Reminder: Pricing Car Trips to Fund Transit Is Progressive Policy

By Brad Aaron | Apr 21, 2017 | 11 Comments

According to 2015 U.S. Census data, most households citywide don't own a car, car-owning households tend to be more affluent than car-free ones, and the vast majority of New Yorkers don't drive to work.

De Blasio Refuses to Fund Discount Fares, Teases “Plan to Address Congestion”

By David Meyer | Jan 27, 2017 | 2 Comments

Responding to a frustrated Staten Island motorist on WNYC, Mayor de Blasio announced that the city will release a "bigger plan to address congestion" in the "coming weeks."

In Albany, Tuesday’s Election Probably Maintained the Status Quo

By David Meyer | Nov 10, 2016 | 1 Comment

A few races are still too close to call, but it looks as though Republicans will maintain control of the State Senate next year, likely preserving an alliance with the growing Independent Democratic Conference. The outcome means that Albany will by and large remain a challenging but not impossible political landscape for advocates seeking to make streets safer […]

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