I wrote about congestion pricing in the Big Apple here and here back in August and July. London, Stockholm and Singapore each have made it a big hit in their towns, and now they're trying to bring it to Broadway. Well, it took another positive step yesterday when the NYC City Council approved a plan that had been negotiated over several months time. It was a close vote, for this particular legislative body, 30-20, and only the powers of persuasion of the City Council's Speaker, the formidable Christine Quinn, turned the tide in its favor. See this from "Newsday" and this release from Hizzoner Mike Bloomberg's office.
On to the state legislature where the new Governor, David Paterson, and the Senate leader, Joe Bruno, are in favor of the plan, but the Assembly Speaker, Shelly Silver, is keeping us all in suspense. They're ironing out the final details of the state budget agreement now, and hopefully, the Big Three of Paterson, Bruno, and Silver will be able to get to the congestion pricing plan before a deadline from the federal Dept. of Transportation expires next Monday. If we miss the deadline, that'll be about $350 million down the chute that could be spent to implement the plan, and for other related transportation costs. We (New Yorkers) would, in a word, be nuts to miss this opportunity to increase business by billions by reducing traffic congestion, reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and get federal support for this all in the bargain.
UPDATE – April 4 – “Crain's NY Business” is reporting here that the proposal, although on life support in the NY State Assembly by some reports, may live if it's created as a pilot program.
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Noteworthy event for New Yorkers: See "Carbon Trading Update: Business Opportunities for Asian Sustainable Infrastructure," a high-level panel discussion from the Asia Society on April 7.