In the first congestion pricing program in the United States, set to start in New York City next May, it aims to reduce carbon emissions and traffic.
Congestion Pricing: The Best Government Policy to Reduce Emissions
Congestion pricing is considered the undisputed best government policy to reduce emissions, even better than banning the sale of gasoline-powered cars, according to Joshua Schank, executive director of the transportation consulting firm InfraStrategies.
Schank, who led a 2019 study on this policy in Los Angeles County, said, “When it comes to reducing emissions, all other policies, including transitioning to an electric fleet and building more public transit, pale in comparison to road pricing.”
Schank added that electric cars contribute to carbon pollution by using electricity generated from fossil fuels and by batteries produced through energy-intensive mining processes. New public transit routes can lead people to stop driving, but when roads become less congested, personal car usage returns to previous levels.
Schank emphasized that “roads must be priced.”
Reducing Emissions in New York
New York City will reduce emissions in just weeks by creating financial incentives for drivers to use public transportation, bike, or walk, and the funds collected from congestion pricing – which are expected to amount to at least a billion dollars annually – will be used to build new subway lines and create new bus routes.
However, there is still opposition to congestion pricing, first proposed in 2007, from residents and officials in New Jersey, Long Island, and the four outer counties of New York.
New Jersey is suing the U.S. Department of Transportation for approval of New York’s plan, asking a federal judge in Newark to block the measures and request a new environmental review.
The state claims that the environmental assessment approved by the Department of Transportation, which is nearly 1000 pages long, does not acknowledge the potential increases in road traffic in New Jersey from drivers avoiding the new tolls.
The mayor of Fort Lee, located on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge, filed a class-action lawsuit in November against the transit authority when it comes to Bergen County officials.
The lawsuit seeks financial compensation for the additional emissions from vehicles that the county is expected to face as drivers avoid the congestion toll and drive through northern New Jersey instead of crossing southern Manhattan to reach Brooklyn or Queens.
The lawsuits were filed after the Department of Transportation announced that New Jersey would not experience any significant environmental impact resulting from New York’s plan. The Department of Transportation’s analysis found that the new tolls would lead to less than a 1 percent increase in vehicle traffic in Bergen County, in northeastern New Jersey.
The Impact of Congestion Pricing in London
Transportation is the primary source of carbon pollution in the United States, accounting for 29 percent of annual greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Exhaust from passenger cars and trucks generates 81 percent of transportation emissions, making reducing driving one of the best ways to lower greenhouse gas emissions, according to Schank.
When London began charging vehicles entering the city center in 2003, the British capital saw a 20 percent drop in carbon emissions from transportation in less than a year, according to a study published in 2005. The number of Londoners walking, using public transportation, or cycling increased.
If
There were no road tolls, people chose to drive regardless of the importance of the trip, according to Carter Rubin, the senior transport leader at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Major American cities suffer from chronic congestion and high emissions because drivers do not pay for the carbon they emit or the space they take up on the roads, Rubin said.
New tolls in New York are expected to reduce the number of vehicles entering Midtown and Lower Manhattan by 17 percent, according to the New York Transportation Agency. Nearly 900,000 vehicles enter Manhattan’s congestion zone every weekday.
The standard toll will be $15 for cars entering the congestion zone either via Manhattan or through a bridge or tunnel from Brooklyn, Queens, or New Jersey.
Trucks and box trucks will pay $24, while large trucks will be charged $36 during those times. Taxis and ride-hailing services like Uber and motorcycles will pay between $1.25 and $7.50.
Cameras, lights, and antennas will be installed on all bridges, tunnels, and streets crossing 60th Street to scan license plates and monitor E-ZPass users to collect fees from drivers entering the congestion zone.
Designers of New York’s new plan hope the new tolls will improve traffic flow in Manhattan, where cars travel at an average speed of 7 miles per hour.
At noon on a recent Tuesday, vehicles traveling east on 59th Street clogged the intersection with Fifth Avenue near Central Park. Drivers shouted and yelled at taxis and delivery trucks blocking the road as they attempted to merge into one open lane.
Rich Corea, a Midtown Manhattan resident and air conditioning technician, said, “Many will continue to drive regardless – the city is more congested than ever. I don’t think the new tolls will change anything.”
Public Opposition to Congestion Pricing
Public opposition to congestion pricing remains a tough political hurdle, especially in American cities where residents heavily rely on driving, according to Adie Tomer, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program.
Los Angeles County postponed a congestion pricing study for a year in 2018 because officials were concerned it would spark opposition ahead of state and local elections. The study is currently ongoing.
Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland, Oregon, have expressed interest in congestion pricing.
New York as a Model for Other Cities
New York first attempted to adopt congestion pricing in 2007, when then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg included the measure in a policy proposal on Earth Day. The New York City Council approved the initiative, but it stalled in the state legislature, where it was opposed by city suburban Democrats and outlying counties.
Congestion pricing requires approval from both the federal and state governments, as some roads in Manhattan receive funding from Washington and Albany, New York, for construction and maintenance.
The plan was revived in 2019 when the city’s aging subway system faced a $510 million budget deficit that led to frequent delays and service cutbacks. Then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio agreed in February 2019 to charge drivers entering lower Manhattan.
Within a month, the New York State Legislature agreed to congestion pricing as part of the state budget. Support was bolstered by a new wave of younger, left-leaning Democrats who themselves are public transit riders.
New York could encourage other American cities to implement congestion pricing, experts say. The New York model will show that congestion pricing primarily benefits drivers who can enjoy a “Sunday morning feel” on the streets during the week, according to Rubin from NRDC.
In
Sweden, before Stockholm adopted a trial congestion pricing program in 2006, many residents and businesses protested the idea. However, the program was very successful in reducing traffic, even helping many of the initial critics to pass the referendum to make congestion pricing permanent in 2007.
Robin stated that opposition in New York would fade once congestion pricing begins.
Robin added: “If you are a plumber trying to make another home call during the day, and if you can pay a fee to save half an hour and then make $100, that’s a really good deal.”
Congestion pricing in New York City could serve as a model for cities across the United States, many of which are waiting for a successful blueprint before moving forward with untried policy, according to Tomer from the Brookings Institution.
Mary Barber, director of New York and New Jersey for the Environmental Defense Fund, said: “We are laying the groundwork, and other cities are definitely watching.”
Reducing congestion means individual cars emit less greenhouse gases as they move more efficiently.
In London, congestion alone accounts for 15 percent of the city’s total carbon pollution from vehicles, according to European traffic data firm TomTom. Driving on congested roads increases fuel consumption by 20 to 45 percent, according to a study by Belgian traffic engineers.
Tomer says: “Congestion pricing does what it says it will do. With one toll, you achieve a lot.”
Source: E&E News
Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sorry-its-15-to-drive-into-midtown-manhattan/
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item:not(.lwrp-no-posts-message-item){
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item img{
max-width: 100%;
height: auto;
object-fit: cover;
aspect-ratio: 1 / 1;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item.lwrp-empty-list-item{
background: initial !important;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item .lwrp-list-link .lwrp-list-link-title-text,
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item .lwrp-list-no-posts-message{
}@media screen and (max-width: 480px) {
.lwrp.link-whisper-related-posts{
}
.lwrp .lwrp-title{
}.lwrp .lwrp-description{
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-multi-container{
flex-direction: column;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-multi-container ul.lwrp-list{
margin-top: 0px;
margin-bottom: 0px;
padding-top: 0px;
padding-bottom: 0px;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-double,
.lwrp .lwrp-list-triple{
width: 100%;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-row-container{
justify-content: initial;
flex-direction: column;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-row-container .lwrp-list-item{
width: 100%;
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item:not(.lwrp-no-posts-message-item){
}
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item .lwrp-list-link .lwrp-list-link-title-text,
.lwrp .lwrp-list-item .lwrp-list-no-posts-message{
};
}
Leave a Reply