The head of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority said congestion pricing is inevitable if the city wants to relieve congestion and improve the system’s capital infrastructure.
(Bloomberg) — The head of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority said congestion pricing is inevitable if the city wants to relieve congestion and improve the system’s capital infrastructure.
“We’re going to put it into effect, we don’t have a choice,” Janno Lieber, the chief executive officer of the MTA said on Bloomberg Surveillance Monday. “It is time to start doing aggressive action to deal with congestion and also to save the planet.”
The congestion pricing plan will be a first for a US city and will charge E-ZPass motorists driving south of 60th street, the city’s central business district, as much as $23.
After years of dealing with state and federal lawmakers, the transit agency anticipates the US Department of Transportation will give final approval after a 30-day public review period, a significant milestone that will allow construction to begin on the tolling gantries.
MTA officials expect congestion pricing to bring in $1 billion in new revenue a year that the agency will borrow against to raise $15 billion. Those funds will help finance major capital projects like expanding the Second Avenue Subway to Harlem, updating the subway signal system and adding more elevators and escalators to stations to make them accessible.
Congestion pricing has won over environmentalists, transit advocates and urban planners but some politicians, including New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, have pushed backed on the plan. Murphy said the initiative’s current structure places a financial hardship on New Jersey commuters.
–With assistance from Tom Keene and Lisa Abramowicz.
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