Will congestion pricing take the shine off the Big Apple?
Manhattan’s streets retained much of their energy even after the Covid shutdowns and the rioting and lawlessness of 2020. But a much-discussed and long-delayed plan that took effect on January 5 to charge cars $9 to enter the city south of 60th Street could finally change all that.
The plan, called “congestion pricing,” has faced withering public skepticism. Polls show that most New Yorkers don’t support it, with many viewing it as an underhanded scheme to subsidize the chronically insolvent Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), responsible for the city’s public transportation.
Congestion pricing advocates claim the charge will reduce traffic and emissions while funding better transportation infrastructure, making the charge a fair price to pay for a more pleasant city.
Similar plans have been tried in a few cities around the world, with mixed results. New York is the first American city to try it. The question now is whether the plan will live up to the hopes of its advocates, or make the Big Apple less inviting at a moment when it is struggling to restore its shine.
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