12 MARCH 28, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Congestion pricing and the price of progress
For more than a decade now, the
movement to institute congestion
pricing in New York City has been
proposed, debated and ultimately killed
over and over again. But this time, it
appears that the controversial proposal
is fi nally going to become a reality.
As we went to press this week, it was
reported that Democrats in the state
legislature appeared to have enough
votes in favor of congestion pricing to
include it in the budget that’s still being
hammered out. Lawmakers have until
April 1 to get a budget deal done.
What this means is that very
soon, anyone crossing an East River
bridge into Manhattan, or traveling
south of 60th Street in Manhattan,
will be charged a toll. The revenue
generated from this plan will be used
to fund much-needed public transit
improvements, even though it’s hoped
that congestion pricing will encourage
more people to leave their cars at home
when traveling to Manhattan, thereby
reducing traffi c volume.
Queens residents have long fought
congestion pricing. Opponents say it’s
just another undue expense that would
drain more money out of middle class
EDITORIAL
pockets. Skepticism abounds over
whether the state government will
allow these funds to truly be used for
public transit projects, or whether this
Photo via Getty Images
becomes just another revenue stream
from which to pilfer.
The woeful state of the city’s public
transit system, combined with the stark
increase in traffi c volume in recent
years, have made congestion pricing a
necessary evil in the eyes of many. But it
needs to come with changes for the MTA
and for Queens commuters alike.
For one thing, the MTA must do
more to trim the fat from its corporate
budget. The overhead in the MTA is
staggering; more than a quarter of all
employees earns in excess of $100,000
a year at a time that the authority faces
an unprecedented defi cit. Leadership
must be held accountable to cut costs
as the public is asked to pay more for
improvements.
For this plan to be truly palatable to
all Queens residents, the city and state
must follow through with its promise
to use that revenue solely on public
transportation improvements — and
those improvements must begin almost
immediately.
The northeast corridor of Queens is
lacking public transportation. It needs
help. One such improvement is the
expansion of ferry service to northeast
Queens, which is already under
consideration. Bringing ferries to
places like Willets Point, College Point
and Fort Totten would give residents
another aff ordable option at getting to
and from Manhattan each day.
Another plan under consideration is
the redesign of all Queens bus routes,
some of which have been unchanged for
at least 50 years. If congestion pricing
is to become a reality, then the city and
MTA must hammer out a new bus route
plan for Queens before the tolls are
activated on the Queensboro Bridge.
The city and MTA must also fully
fund Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Bus Forward
initiative, which will expand Select
Bus Service (SBS) to eight highly-used
Queens bus lines. SBS allows for larger
buses, off-board fare collection and
dedicated bus lanes, all of which aim to
move commuters around more quickly.
The congestion pricing plan must
also usher the end of tolls from one
part of the borough to the other (via
the Cross Bay Bridge linking the
Rockaways and Broad Channel).
The MTA must, within the next
year, take down the toll gantries at
the Cross Bay Bridge, and the Marine
Parkway Bridge between Brooklyn
and Rockaway. If we are to pay more
to travel into Manhattan, then we
ought to have no cost to travel within
Brooklyn and Queens.
The authority must also reintroduce
the Freedom Ticket, the shelved fare
equalization plan which would enable
thousands of eastern Queens residents
to aff ord rides on the Long Island Rail
Road between points in Brooklyn and
Manhattan. The Atlantic Ticket plan
already in place, which only takes Queens
commuters as far as Atlantic Terminal in
Brooklyn, is not nearly enough.
These are steps that should be taken
right off the bat, but the congestion
pricing plan must also serve to provide
a down payment for the future of public
transportation. This could include the
introduction of new express bus lanes
on the Long Island Expressway, light rail
service through underserved areas and
even the potential extension of subway
lines east of Flushing and Jamaica.
If congestion pricing is going to
work for New York City, then the city
and state must keep their promise,
and it must be an unshakable pact:
For this “tax” on drivers, the city
must fi nally provide all New Yorkers
with a modern, efficient public
transportation system.
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ESTABLISHED 1908
Co-Publishers
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA SCHNEPS
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ROBERT POZARYCKI
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MARLENE RUIZ
Reporters
EMILY DAVENPORT
MARK HALLUM
CARLOTTA MOHAMED
BILL PARRY
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