Comments on: Sadik-Khan Set to Testify at City Hall http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/03/24/sadik-khan-set-to-testify-at-city-hall/ Covering the New York City Streets Renaissance Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:07:22 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 hourly 1 By: Hilary http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/03/24/sadik-khan-set-to-testify-at-city-hall/comment-page-1/#comment-46638 Hilary Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:56:50 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/03/24/sadik-khan-set-to-testify-at-city-hall/#comment-46638 Re the constitutional issue, I would think that if the CP fee is for entering the CBD -- and is applied at the Manhattan exits of all tunnels and bridges - it is not the same as the tunnel tolls, which are for use of the tunnels. But I think there's a larger problem with the PA tolls. What I learned yesterday is that they are set to optimize revenue because they are driven by their bondholders. They can not be set to reduce the number of vehicles entering Manhattan. This would seem to doom any hope of the city making progress toward a goal of reducing (or even freezing) vehicular traffic. If there are to be offsets to the PA tolls, all of those offsets should be dedicated to transit -- not to the general fund for PA to invest in real estate, airports, etc. It also points to a danger of relying on CP and tolls to fund transit. We need to have diverse revenue sources, and above all A TARGET FOR THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES THAT WILL BE ALLOWED IN THE CITY and a coordinated system of incentives set to achieve it. I leave it to the game theorists to design it. Without that goal and a method for reaching it, the critics are right to say CP is about raising revenue, not reducing traffic. Re the constitutional issue, I would think that if the CP fee is for entering the CBD -- and is applied at the Manhattan exits of all tunnels and bridges - it is not the same as the tunnel tolls, which are for use of the tunnels.

But I think there's a larger problem with the PA tolls. What I learned yesterday is that they are set to optimize revenue because they are driven by their bondholders. They can not be set to reduce the number of vehicles entering Manhattan. This would seem to doom any hope of the city making progress toward a goal of reducing (or even freezing) vehicular traffic.

If there are to be offsets to the PA tolls, all of those offsets should be dedicated to transit -- not to the general fund for PA to invest in real estate, airports, etc.

It also points to a danger of relying on CP and tolls to fund transit. We need to have diverse revenue sources, and above all A TARGET FOR THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES THAT WILL BE ALLOWED IN THE CITY and a coordinated system of incentives set to achieve it. I leave it to the game theorists to design it. Without that goal and a method for reaching it, the critics are right to say CP is about raising revenue, not reducing traffic.

]]> By: Josh http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/03/24/sadik-khan-set-to-testify-at-city-hall/comment-page-1/#comment-46634 Josh Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:31:57 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/03/24/sadik-khan-set-to-testify-at-city-hall/#comment-46634 JSK is right that you raise a Constitutional issue if you try to charge different prices to different groups of people. JSK is right that you raise a Constitutional issue if you try to charge different prices to different groups of people.

]]> By: Hilary http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/03/24/sadik-khan-set-to-testify-at-city-hall/comment-page-1/#comment-46500 Hilary Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:13:25 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/03/24/sadik-khan-set-to-testify-at-city-hall/#comment-46500 The answer to my question just arrived in my email in-box in the first article in Spotlight on the Region from Regional Plan: "The simple fact is that for the last generation the suburban sector feeding the Manhattan Central Business District that has grown the fastest is by far from the west – northern New Jersey and Rockland and Orange counties in New York. Between 1980 and 2000 eighty-nine of every one hundred new commuting trips from the suburbs have come from these areas..." The answer to my question just arrived in my email in-box in the first article in Spotlight on the Region from Regional Plan:
"The simple fact is that for the last generation the suburban sector feeding the Manhattan Central Business District that has grown the fastest is by far from the west – northern New Jersey and Rockland and Orange counties in New York.
Between 1980 and 2000 eighty-nine of every one hundred new commuting trips from the suburbs have come from these areas..."

]]> By: Hilary http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/03/24/sadik-khan-set-to-testify-at-city-hall/comment-page-1/#comment-46493 Hilary Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:25:41 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/03/24/sadik-khan-set-to-testify-at-city-hall/#comment-46493 I will be testifying in support, but would still like to know: what %-age of traffic entering Manhattan is contributed by those crossing via the GWB and Holland Tunnels? I assume it's much greater than 10%. I will be testifying in support, but would still like to know: what %-age of traffic entering Manhattan is contributed by those crossing via the GWB and Holland Tunnels? I assume it's much greater than 10%.

]]> By: Hometown Heroes http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/03/24/sadik-khan-set-to-testify-at-city-hall/comment-page-1/#comment-46489 Hometown Heroes Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:08:25 +0000 http://www.streetsblog.org/2008/03/24/sadik-khan-set-to-testify-at-city-hall/#comment-46489 Go JSK! Go JSK!

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