New York’s congestion pricing plan passed a major milestone on Friday after receiving a green light from the Federal Highway Administration.
(Bloomberg) — New York’s congestion pricing plan passed a major milestone on Friday after receiving a green light from the Federal Highway Administration.
The plan, supported by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, is designed to reduce traffic congestion in busy areas of Manhattan by charging vehicles tolls when driving through certain neighborhoods.
The Highway Administration approved the release of an environmental assessment for the proposal and issued a “Draft Finding of No Significant Impact,” allowing the plan to move forward to next steps, according to a Friday letter from the US Department of Transportation seen by Bloomberg.
The environmental assessment and the Department of Transportation’s draft will be put out for a 30-day public review before the Highway Administration makes its final determination, according to the letter.
“Governor Hochul is committed to implementing congestion pricing to reduce traffic, improve air quality, and support our public transit system,” according to the Governor’s spokesperson John Lindsay. “The finding of legal sufficiency is a critical step that will allow our Environmental Assessment to be publicly available for anyone to read, and we will continue to work with our partners to move congestion pricing forward.”
“Congestion pricing is a generational opportunity to make it easier for people to get around in, and get to, the Central Business District, by reducing traffic and funding improvements to the public transit system,” John McCarthy, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s chief of external relations, said in a statement Friday. “We are grateful that the FHWA has acknowledged the Project Sponsors’ efforts to date and has found the document has met the standards for legal sufficiency.”
Read more: NYC Congestion Pricing Will Bump Some Drivers Costs to $120 (1)
Congestion pricing could potentially charge some motorists as much as $23 to enter Manhattan’s central business district, which is south of 60th street. The MTA, a state agency that runs the city’s subways, buses and commuter rails, projects the new fees to bring in $1 billion in revenue a year.
The tolling program, a first for a US city, could begin in the second quarter of 2024. But before it can start, MTA’s Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority has to adopt a final tolling structure, including rates and any crossing credits, discounts and exemptions.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has been critical of the congestion pricing plan saying it should not burden New Jersey taxpayers.
In a statement Friday he called the decision “unfair and ill-advised.”
“Since day one, I’ve stood against the disproportionate negative impacts of congestion pricing on New Jerseyans – a greater financial burden on New Jersey commuters, double tolling, toll shopping, a lack of revenue for NJ TRANSIT, outsized environmental burdens on certain North Jersey communities,” he said in an emailed statement.
Murphy says he supports congestion pricing but would like to see it be done in a fair way.
Driving into Manhattan has rebounded since the depths of the pandemic. Crossings on MTA’s seven bridges and two tunnels have been near or even exceeded pre-pandemic levels for more than a year, on average.
–With assistance from Michelle Kaske.
(Updates with details throughout including statements from New York and New Jersey Governors.)
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