The New York Times-20080125-Traffic Panel Members Expect to Endorse Fees on Cars
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Traffic Panel Members Expect to Endorse Fees on Cars
The state commission studying ways to reduce traffic in Manhattan is likely to recommend that lawmakers approve a slimmed-down version of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan when it holds its final meeting next week, according to several members of the panel.
While the mayor sought to impose an $8 fee on cars entering Manhattan on weekdays below 86th Street, the modified plan would move that boundary south to 60th Street. In another change from Mr. Bloomberg's proposal, it would not charge people for vehicle trips that take place within the zone.
The money raised, estimated at close to $500 million a year, would pay for expanding and modernizing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's mass transit system.
People involved in the discussions, however, said that many details of the proposal were still in flux as officials sought to address the concerns of legislators and critics who have raised objections to the mayor's plan.
One of the advantages of the modified plan, supporters say, is that by eliminating the charge on trips within the congestion zone, the city could avoid the expense of creating and operating a vast network of E-ZPass readers and cameras to record license plates of cars traveling around Manhattan. A result would be more revenue for the transit projects.
Minimizing the number of cameras would also address privacy concerns.
I think the public hearings and the research that's taken place over the last five months has resulted in a much better proposal than the original one, said Kathryn S. Wylde, a commission member and the president of the Partnership for New York City, a business group that has pushed for congestion pricing.
Ms. Wylde and seven other members of the commission contacted this week said that they believed the panel was likely to recommend a modified version of the mayor's plan over other ideas, including a proposal for tolls on the bridges over the East River and the Harlem River.
The 17-member commission is required to make a recommendation by next Thursday on how best to reduce traffic while also raising money for mass transit projects. Its proposal will be taken up by the City Council and then go to the State Legislature, which is required by law to consider it by March 31.
Several commission members said this week that they felt a toll proposal was even more controversial than the congestion charge and that it might be rejected by the City Council. Marc V. Shaw, the commission chairman, has been the strongest proponent of tolls and said that he was not yet ready to give up on the idea. He said that he hoped that the commission's recommendation would be consistent with the goal of coordinating the toll policies of the transportation authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Told that several commission members said they expected the modified congestion pricing plan to emerge as the commission's recommendation, Mr. Shaw said, I think that you're hearing an accurate rendition of how people have responded thus far to the various options.
Another option was a proposal to ban vehicles from a Manhattan congestion zone one day a week based on the last digits of their license plates. That plan has been promoted by Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky, a Westchester Democrat who is a commission member. One of the most vocal opponents of congestion pricing, Mr. Brodsky also said that he expected the modified plan to be approved next week, although he would oppose it.
I don't think there's any doubt about it, he said. They're driving this toward the mayor's plan with a few small modifications, most of which make it worse.
