12 JANUARY 25, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
EDITORIAL
Healing our city’s traffi c ‘toothache’
When we think about traffi c
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in this city, we’ve believe it
is analogous to a festering
toothache that refuses to go away.
We complain about it constantly;
some of us even lose sleep over it. We
fear about the cost and/or the uncomfortability
involved in having the problem
remedied. We try every patchwork
remedy to make the pain disappear
for a while; sometimes the anesthetic
works, but it wears off quickly.
Regrettably, many of us only do
something about a toothache when it
has become so unbearably painful that
it can no longer be ignored — then we
see a professional. This city and state
has arrived at that point on traffic
congestion, and the professionals have
come up with a plan to “Fix NYC” traffi c.
Unveiled on Jan. 21, the plan calls for
what was previously known as “congestion
pricing” in Manhattan south of
60th Street. That means any driver from
the outer boroughs going into that zone
would be charged $11 each time they
enter it. The revenue generated from
this toll would go toward much-needed
public transit improvements.
Almost immediately, the critics
pounced. The toll is too much money
and it would saddle drivers in the
outer boroughs and Long Island with
yet another unwanted expense.
Here’s where the conversation gets
diffi cult.
There are not only too many vehicles
on the streets of Manhattan; there
are too many vehicles on the streets of
every borough. Rush hours anywhere
in the city are becoming a royal pain
for drivers and non-drivers alike. The
streets are fi lled with more vehicles
thanks, in part, to the advent of ridesharing
companies and green cabs.
Add in a dilapidated subway system
and an unreliable network of buses,
and it’s no wonder that more people
are using their own cars, or turning
to cabs and ridesharing, rather than
use the faulty public transit system
in place.
Most everyone agrees that the subways
and buses need major overhauls,
but that requires major funds that the
federal government isn’t likely to provide.
The money needs to come from
somewhere, and Fix NYC provides that
necessary revenue stream to make it
happen.
Some of the improvements are
quick; others will take more time.
But fulfilling the promises under
Fix NYC would make it easier for
everyone to travel by convincing
more drivers to leave their cars at
home in favor of a more reliable
public transit system.
Eventually, the frustrated toothache
suff erer sits in the dentist’s chair and
endures the root canal. It’s uncomfortable,
it’s inconvenient and it’s costly —
but it gets rid of the pain for good.
We’ve put off doing something about
our traffi c “toothache” for too long. It’s
time to get it fi xed.
