Streetsblog New York City

Transportation Alternatives Queens Committee Chair Mike Heffron sends along this report from last night's traffic commission hearing at York College in Jamaica, Queens.

No huge surprise, Assemblymen Andrew Hevesi and Rory Lancman both came out against congestion pricing, citing not enough evidence it would work and demanding transit improvements without explaining where the money would come from or why as state legislators they haven't allocated more money to the MTA themselves. Then they left.

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall didn't even make it, she sent her Chief of Staff to repeat the same speech from the last public hearing, also calling for lots of great transit improvements without explaining where the money would come or why Queens hasn't gotten it before now.

That was one step better than Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan who was listed as first to speak, but didn't make it to the hearing. It's too bad our elected officials, with the exception of City Councilman Leroy Comrie, couldn't have stayed or even bothered to come because they would have seen something that they claim doesn't exist in Queens… supporters of congestion pricing who live in the borough, several for their whole life.

When London set up its congestion charging system in 2002, the city purposely decided to allow very few exemptions from the fee. Whether you are an elected member of Parliament, an off-duty police officer, or the head of Transport for London, it doesn't matter. You are still paying £8 ($14) if you want to drive into the crowded center of the city. Limiting exemptions made the law simpler, fairer and easier to enforce. Over the last four years only one entity has consistently refused to pay London's congestion charge and, apparently, Mayor Ken Livingstone has finally had enough of it. Yesterday, during a television interview, Livingstone said, "It would actually be quite nice if the American ambassador in Britain could pay the charge that everybody else is paying and not actually try and skive out of it like a chiselling little crook." The US Embassy, which has about 100 cars, refuses to pay the congestion charge and the tens of thousands of pounds of violations it has racked up. Maybe Livingstone doesn't get it. We are Americans. Driving is our birthright. We drive in whatever vehicle we want, wherever we want, whenever we want. We fight wars and spill American blood to ensure these rights. The message from the Bush Administration to the United Kingdom and the rest of the world is clear: Take your congestion charges, bike infrastructure, bus rapid transit systems, and greenhouse gas emission reduction schemes and stick 'em. As Dick Cheney said in 2002, "The American way of life is not negotiable." Who could have known that the vice president was talking about parking tickets.