Traffic Commission Recommends Congestion Pricing
The Old Albany Mantra didn’t work this time…
Back in the day, we wrote a congestion pricing piece pointing to a phrase that New York State politicos like to evoke out of frustration far too often. “Any time you want to kill an initiative in Albany, make a commission to study it.” Unfortunate for some, that didn’t work this time.
Sick of the congestion pricing commission?
The Congestion Mitigation Commission, formed in late 2007 to deal with the controversial congestion pricing plan for Manhattan’s Central Business Zone issued its final recommendation on Friday afternoon. The results are probably similar to the verdict that would have been issued months ago, pre-commission. The final count was 13-yes, 2-no, 1-abstain and 1-absent.
Next Steps (…that could have been next steps in August)
City Council must review and vote on the plan, followed by both the state Senate and Assembly, which interestingly enough will be where the real battles are fought, not right here in New York City. The plan must be voted on by March 31st to ensure federal funds to the tune of $354 million. Hopefully this time, we will go back to the mantra of time is money, rather than the one that deals with killing legislation. More public input could be in order, especially from communities that would be affected. But certainly there are ways to do this without building a new panel of experts, who will inevitably vote for it, since most of those who get to appoint folks to the panel, support the plan. Its not rocket science, just politics.
