Congestion Pricing

Let's face it, it's been a tough year for the Empire State. With Spitzer and Paterson doing the governors' shuffle, the New York State budget was bound to be flawed and late, at that. Unfortunately, one of the biggest items on the table was the congestion pricing deal for New York City. Congestion pricing was introduced in an effort to curb traffic and, therefore, carbon dioxide emissions in NYC. Contingent upon the NYS Legislature approving the plan to charge people driving below 60th Street, NYC was set to receive $354 million from the federal government to assist the city make much needed transit and infrastructure improvements. Sheldon Silver, Majority Leader of the Assembly, wouldn't even let the State Assembly vote on the measure (his district would have been affected by the pricing). It's not worth speculating why this critical piece of legislation was not even allowed to come to a vote--it's simply frustrating. Considering that climate change and air quality in urban areas are both well covered topics, it's disheartening to think that legislators failed to support congestion pricing, many claiming that it would adversely impact New Yorkers. Failure to pass congestion pricing legislation now does not bode well for future pollution mitigation efforts. Kudos to London, though, for setting a global example that congestion pricing is viable and it can work.