Streetsblog New York City

Where's the beef? Under Rep. Anthony Weiner's plan, vehicles, like the one above, would not be charged a fee to use New York City's most heavily congested streets

On Monday evening, just hours before the federal government's announcement that it would give New York City $354.5 million to kick-start Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY 9th District) spoke with New Yorkers on environmental and energy issues at a forum hosted by Solar 1.

One of the earliest vocal critics of Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan, Weiner made clear to the environmentally-conscious audience that his position has not changed on the subject. Rather than charging motorists any fee, Weiner said that he would rather tackle New York City's traffic congestion problem by improving ferry service on the East River, increasing cycling mode share to 10 percent of all commuter trips, reducing truck traffic during peak hours and starting work on the Cross-Harbor Freight Tunnel. A Democratic contender for Mayor in 2009, Weiner did not delve into the specifics of how he would accomplish or pay for the implementation of his transportation policy goals.

Weiner, who told the Brooklyn Eagle yesterday, "Congestion pricing is simply a bad idea that will create a giant expensive bureaucracy, hand too much authority to state agencies, and give many suburbanites a free ride at the expense of New York City residents," laid out a four point critique of congestion pricing. He said:

1. Congestion Pricing is a regressive tax: Weiner said he believes congestion pricing will hurt New York City's poor and small business owners, while wealthy suburbanites will pay whatever it costs to keep driving. The commuter tax, Weiner said, was a much more effective way to raise money for the city.
   
   
2. Congestion Pricing will not raise enough money for mass transit: Weiner said that the technology necessary to run a congestion pricing system is too expensive to set up and run compared to the amount of revenue that it will bring in. Weiner suggested that 40 percent of the revenue generated by the system would go towards paying to run it. He also expects that whatever funds are raised for mass transit will ultimately be deducted from New York State and Federal mass transit aid to New York City.
   
   
3. Congestion Pricing is a divisive issue: Weiner believes that congestion pricing draws unnecessary borders within and across different communities, especially between the outer boroughs and Manhattan.
   
   
4. There are other more effective means to reduce congestion: In addition to his call for starting construction on the Cross-Harbor freight rail tunnel, increasing bicycle mode share and beefing up ferry service, Weiner said that traffic flow could be improved simply by better enforcement of existing traffic laws.
   

Weiner also spoke more broadly about environmental policy and politics on both the local and national levels.

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Looking closely at the conditions attached to the $354.5 million federal grant New York City received today, a few things jump out right away:

1. The final Implementation Plan cooked up by the 17-member committee isn't just going to be a "traffic migitation" plan. To qualify for this funding, New York City is going to have to "use pricing as the principal mechanism" to achieve traffic reductions, according to the Feds.
   
   
2. Keep your eye on the 6.3%. The federal grant demands that whatever plan New York City settles upon, it must reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the congestion zone by 6.3%. Even in relatively simple cases (like, say, removing traffic from Central and Prospect Park) traffic modeling can be a subjective and complex business. Whomever is responsible for inputting data and analyzing the output of New York City's traffic model, is going to be an important person these next few months. I don't know about you, but I'm sure glad that Bruce Schaller is working for the Dept. of Transportation now.
   
   
3. Today is a great day for New York City's bus system. Forget the congestion pricing fight for a moment. The vast majority of this federal money -- 92% of it! -- is going straight into immediate upgrades for New York City's bus system. That is huge. With $213.6 million, the MTA will roll out 367 new buses, upgrade pedestrian walkways around some stations and build a dedicated bus lane across the East River. The grant will also provide $112.7 million to fund New York City's long-promised Bus Rapid Transit project. Ferries get $15.8 million too.

Still, it all depends on New York City and State legislators' approval. But would you vote for a City Council Member or State Legislator who caused New York City to lose a federal grant that was going to provide for $342 million in nearly immediate bus and ferry improvements?

The Agreement:
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has awarded $354.5 million through its Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA) to New York to implement the Mayor's congestion pricing program (or an alternative plan approved by USDOT as described below). The funds have been awarded jointly to the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT), the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT).

The Funding:
The $354.5 million supports the implementation of the Mayor's congestion pricing program and a series of projects to better serve New Yorkers with public transit. The funding is programmed as follows:

• $10.4 million to implement congestion pricing - These funds are dedicated to beginning congestion pricing south of 86th street, with a requirement to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the congestion pricing zone by 6.3%, which is achieved in the Mayor's plan. The City is also committed to provide $112.7 million for technology acquisition, matching the USDOT's spending on bus rapid transit (described below).
• $213.6 million for bus facilities and other improvements - The grant will pay for the construction of the Jamaica and Charleston Annex bus depots. The MTA will purchase up to 367 new buses with funds already budgeted for the construction of the depots - as proposed in the UPA application to meet procurement regulations. In addition, the grant also pays for: constructing a bus lay-up facility, upgrading park-n-ride locations, improving pedestrian walkways to and from stations; and providing new technology at 223 intersections to better manage traffic flow. NYCDOT will construct an East River bus lane to decrease travel times.
• $112.7 million to begin Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) - A high speed BRT system will be developed in New York City. PlaNYC calls for BRT to begin in all five boroughs along major transit corridors which lack subway service.
• $15.8 million for regional ferry service - Ferry service improvements will connect developing neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens with Midtown and Lower Manhattan.
• $2 million for research - To support the West of Hudson Regional Transportation Alternatives Analysis/DEIS.

The Conditions:
The funding from the USDOT is conditioned on actions by the New York State Legislature and the New York City Council. Congestion pricing must be approved within 90 days of the opening of the next session of the New York State Legislature, allowing congestion pricing to begin no later than March 31, 2009. If the State Legislature implements a plan which is different than the Mayor's, in order to access the funds, the plan must:

• Reduce Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) in the congested zone by at least 6.3%;
• Use pricing as the principal mechanism to achieve this reduction;
• Provide for at least 18 months of congestion pricing operation;
• Provide enough bus service as called for by USDOT to meet the mobility needs of New York City;
• Meets the authorization deadline of no later than 90 days after the opening of the next session of the New York State Legislature;
• Meets the implementation deadline of March 31, 2009;
• Spends as much on pricing implementation technology as is provided by USDOT for BRT implementation.
• Be approved by the USDOT.

The Penalty:
The conditions in the grant come with limitations and severe penalties:

• Neither the NYCDOT, MTA nor NYSDOT can access the transit funds until a congestion pricing plan meeting the USDOT's standards is authorized;
• Failure to meet the VMT-reduction goals, implementation deadlines and all other conditions stipulated in the USDOT grant will lead to a forfeiture of the grant.

When NYC Transit President Howard Roberts announced Monday -- to some ridicule -- that certain subway lines are overcrowded with little to no relief in sight, it was reported that the system would not be able to handle the influx of commuters who are expected to switch to transit should congestion pricing be implemented.

Considering the consistency of the articles, it seems less likely that the newspapers -- which by and large support pricing -- spun Roberts' remarks and more likely that the transit chief, let's say, gave the wrong impression. After all, congestion pricing would be a boon to the MTA, providing funds to upgrade subway lines, extend bus service on overtaxed or underserved routes, and improve bus rapid transit and ferry service -- and much of this in advance of pricing, thanks to an expected $500 million federal allocation. Also, even if 10 percent of Manhattan-bound drivers make the mode shift (an estimate considered to be on the high end), it would equate to a mere 2 percent jump in transit ridership, spread across subway and bus lines throughout the boroughs.

When his warnings were interpreted as a knock at pricing, Roberts summoned reporters back to his office.

Metro reports:

Amid all the bad news, the president of NYC Transit feared an underlying message had been lost about the benefits of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed congestion pricing plan.

 
During rush hours, the busiest train lines -- including the 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and E -- are running at or over capacity. Yet Roberts insisted the system could still “fully support” the increased ridership projected from congestion pricing. “In fact the current strain on parts of the system is a big argument in favor of congestion pricing, not against it,” he said.

Roberts believes the business-day toll could pay for subway improvements and for such big-ticket projects as the first leg of the Second Avenue Subway, which is already $1 billion short.

On Monday, Roberts proposed quick “fixes,” including adding more cars to trains and extending station platforms. But these remedies would take “four or five” years. More importantly, they all require money the MTA doesn’t have.

“Congestion pricing is critical to putting these fixes into place,” Roberts said yesterday.

Photo: Scott Beale/Laughing Squid

Streetsblog interviewed DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan at 40 Worth St., Monday, June 18

Janette Sadik-Khan: Four days.

Streetsblog: Left in the legislative session?

JSK: Yeah, well, maybe four days left, maybe more days. August in Albany. What can be better?

SB: (Laughing) So, let's start with something other than congestion pricing. How was your trip to Copenhagen to meet with Jan Gehl? Had you ever been before?

JSK: Never been.

SB: What did you think?

JSK: I thought it was spectacular. The experience of riding a bicycle in a city in which the car is not the priority was really inspiring. One piece that was a bit of a surprise was how well behaved people were in Copenhagen. I didn't see a single person break a single traffic law while I was there which is certainly a little different than the experience that we have here.

SB: I noticed the same thing when I was there last fall but every Copenhagener I asked insisted they were just as rude and unruly as New Yorkers.

JSK: Gehl went through the historic trajectory of how they've reclaimed public space bit by bit, one street at a time. Today, they've reached a tipping point where 36 percent of the people commuting to work are on bike and they're looking to get that mode share up to 40 percent.

The other thing that amazed me is that there are all of these bikes parked all over the place and it appears that none of them are locked. They all have these small black handcuffs on the rear wheel. You turn the key and this steel rod comes through and locks it up. How long do you think that would last on the streets of New York City? Ten minutes?

So, there are definite cultural elements that make Copenhagen Copenhagen and need to be adapted to work in New York. But the design of the streets and their approach to the streets are really interesting and I'm hoping to bring Gehl over at the end of next month to help us work on a pedestrian and public space strategy much like what he did for London.

SB: Would you have him work in a specific location or citywide?

JSK: We need to be able to show what can be done in all five boroughs with a variety of different techniques. But not everything needs to be a massive capital project. I'm looking to see what we can do on a shorter term basis to have some immediate impact in reclaiming streets and coming up with different designs for roadways and sidewalks.

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