Public comment on transportation projects is not representative. It is not a vote. It is also not a shouting match.
It doesn't matter how many people show up to support any position. It doesn't matter how loud or passionate they are. It matters whether they make a good argument.
That said, because government officials can be tempted to interpret public comments as a vote, I'm glad 2/3 of the comments were in favor of #CongestionPricing in NYC.
#Washington is planning a #RoadUsageCharge (#RUC). The main driver for this seems to be that WA is mostly funding its road maintenance from the gas tax and that is projected to fall significantly, ostensibly due to EVs ("from $1.3 billion in 2026 to under $1 billion in 2035" - https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2023/10/11/washingtons-long-road-to-replacing-the-gas-tax/). I understand that the migration to EVs causes revenue loss that needs to be addressed but I'm very skeptical that an RUC can be implemented in a reasonable way.
A toll system w/ #CongestionPricing could be an alternative. The problem with this is that something like #GoodToGo needs expensive equipment. The cost of building this out needs to be weight against the cost of #RUC. My guess is that the long term cost of it is lower than the administrative cost of RUC with all its exemptions. It can be made much fairer by only charging in places where alternatives are available and it's a better tool to address congestion and environmental concerns. #Traffic
RT @regionalplan Half of one percent of residents in Orange and Dutchess counties drive into the CBD - fewer than 3,200 people.
Meanwhile, #congestionpricing revenue will fund projects along the Port Jervis and Hudson Metro-North lines. Twice as many people would benefit from better transit.
RT @tri_state Gov. Kathy Hochul pointed to New York's transportation sector accounting for nearly 1/3 of the state's greenhouse gas emissions. #congestionpricing will reduce the emissions that endanger our health, our children, and our city. #StateoftheState
RT @cssnyorg Revenue generated by #congestionpricing will help finance MTA's crucial transit projects, including investments in buses, subways and commuter rail.
It will also create tens of thousands of local jobs throughout the state.
Interesting convo on Nextdoor, even if poorly handled, about the need for a car if you have a lifestyle of traveling outside the city often and have a big dog which you can’t take on public transpo.
My takeaway is that it might be better to live outside the city where you can have a big dog and car and and just commute to the city to work (as opposed to having your cake and eating it too by living in the city and needing a car for such things).
RT @samiliebman What hasn’t been discussed is what the non-ezpass charge for cars to enter the CBD under #comgestionpricing. It’s a whopping $22.50 peak, $5.50.
And under the #congestionpricing proposal, the MTA reserves right to charge 25% more to drive below 60th Street on #gridlockalalert days.
RT @komanoff That Star-Ledger editorial could have gone further and called out Murphy for spending $10+B on his asinine, self-defeating NJTP Newark Bay - Hudson County highway widening. But the editorial's ringing endorsement of #congestionpricing is welcome and gorgeous. Bravo!
The one objection I have to #NYC#congestionpricing is that not every car that traverses the #GWB actually enters NYC proper. A substantial proportion of that traffic is thru traffic that has no choice but to take the Cross Bronx Xpwy from NJ to CT or divert to the Tappan Zee, and has no impact on NYC surface street or parking congestion.
But, the only alternative is to build a thruway from NJ to CT with no exits in NYC, or to put the tolls at the exits into NYC, which currently isn't feasible.
Someone on Nextdoor brought up Raleigh NC as an example of failed pedestrian only zone killing businesses in a thread about congestion pricing in NYC and now I want to learn about what happened in Raleigh.
Having just bikes home down the length of Bleecker, with not a single car passing me: Congestion Pricing can't come soon enough! https://youtu.be/ow9chXpBS9g