Queensboro Bridge (Fran Fran via Flickr)
Jan. 19, 2018 By Nathaly Pesantez
Cars making their way to Manhattan by way of the Queensboro Bridge won’t have to pay the price, so long as they stay above 60th Street, according to Governor Cuomo’s newly proposed congestion pricing plan.
The proposal, created by the state’s Fix NYC panel and released today, focuses on charging passenger cars and trucks entering Manhattan anywhere below 60th Street during certain hours and days. Cars would be charged $11.52 from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, while commercial trucks would pay $25.34 for the same time frame.
But drivers crossing the East River through the Queensboro Bridge would only see a charge if they were to head south into the congestion zone, or the central business district, as the report calls it.
Central Business District, where congestion pricing would be applied to vehicles.
Cars crossing the remaining East River bridges into Manhattan would have no choice but to pay, except for those that immediately take the FDR Drive northbound after crossing the Brooklyn Bridge.
The measure is a change from prior proposals, like Move NY’s, that called for all free East River crossings to be tolled. Cuomo’s plan, instead, aims to move the focus onto Manhattan’s most traffic-congested areas, which have been deemed among the worst in the country. The midtown area, for example, saw an average vehicular speed of 4.7 mph in 2016, slightly faster than walking speed.
“The report accurately points out that the objective is not to raise tolls entering the borough of Manhattan, but more specifically those trips adding to the congestion in a defined central business district,” Cuomo said.
The report anticipates charging only commercial trucks first beginning some time in 2020, and then adding zone pricing to passenger cars. The panel recommends the pricing extension to all vehicles align with the re-opening of the L train tunnel connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan, scheduled for 2021.
A recommendation to charge taxis and for-hire vehicles a surcharge of $2 to $5 per ride was also put forth by the Fix NYC panel. Prior to congestion pricing going into effect, the state also suggests a series of steps to be taken, including identifying public transit improvements for the outer boroughs, better enforcing traffic laws within the CBD, and TLC regulation reform.
Cuomo said he will spend the next several months discussing the proposal and alternatives with lawmakers.
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15 Comments
Will you have to pay a toll to leave the city using the 59th street bridge coming from the north on 2nd avenue? You are not contributing to any congestion if you cross the bridge into Queens.
Get rid of taxi and Uber . Too many of them are riding empty cars and clogging the roads.
Stop with the toll .its not fair and all that $$ goes u know where.
A lot. De Blasio is a little too liberal. We have homeless people in hotels.
I know that some people have a love affair with their cars but the beauty of NYC is that you don’t need a car. I think it should be like getting a gun permit in NYC. If you can give a good reason for needing one you should get a deduction. If you don’t provide a good reason, full and inflated price. Car people do not act like this is a home but rather just a bunch of roads and mazes for them to get through. Angry, honking, driving fast, rolling through stop signs, polluting and generally just making this city less safe, less clean and less peaceful. I skate over the 59th street bridge every day and need a mask because the pollution is too much. In my opinion, cars and trucks are the biggest quality of life issue in NYC.
This article neglected travel from Manhattan to Queens using the 59 bridge. It’s easy to ride Queens to Manhattan and not go south of 60th street.
You cannot get on the bridge Manhattan to Queens driving the 1 0r 2 blocks entering on 58th or 59th street.
I would fully support this if there are NO exceptions for city, state and other government employees. We all know that every agency will be handing out “free passes” like candy on Halloween.
However I pleased that the article did not call it the Koch bridge.
Very good points.
Exactly what I was thinking Tom.
That reminds me. Who is the jerk who parks on Center Blvd with the meathead black and gold sports car that parks illegally every day and puts his badge on the dashboard? Gee, I wonder why people have lost respect for cops.
I disagree. I work for the City on Rikers Island, where I need to travel to and from 7 jails all day, as a mental health supervisor. I drive against the rush hour traffic from Manhattan to Queens. There is no way to do this, other than driving. My salary prevents me from paying a toll, I would have to find another job. we work for the City, for very little, and should be free of this toll.
Cuomo favoring the rich by not taxing them. He think they will flee. The middle class and poor take it on the chin again. Cuomo is Taxing whatever businesses can afford NYC right out the door. Just limit Ubers, Lyfts and Yellow Cabs along with Livery Cabs. the Bridges over the East River will be next.
I got the idea of favoring the rich by not taxing them from Trump.
How much money does this city need?
That is exactly what the politicians are saying about you.
NYC and its corrupt and wasteful agencies & politicians have a insatiable appetite for $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. There is never enough $$$$$$$$$$$$ for them.
You mean like the billionaire real estate developer you voted for for president? Clearly you “don’t” like them.
How do you know any of us voted for him?