Today in the news.

So, the Congestion Pricing Plan was killed.

I must admit that I’m not quite sure how I feel about it.

I think that it is fundamentally flawed and that the plan itself was shortsighted. And before you get all on your
blahblahblahsyoureallyoughttobemoregreenandsavetheenvironment high-horse I just want you to know that I own those fluorescent bulbs (at great cost to my vanity) and I no longer use plastic bags for my shopping AND I try and unplug all unused appliances. So screw you hippie.

Anyhoodle.

I think that the plan is flawed because it is a fallacy to assume that the people most impacted by the proposed congestion pricing are the suburbanites commuting from outside of the City. And I am referring to the City as a whole and NOT just Manhattan.

I think that the plan is flawed because it is a fallacy to assume that the people in the outer boroughs own and use cars out of want and not necessity. I mean, look at the freaking subway map. It is plain to see that subway availability is diminished exponentially the farther one gets from Manhattan. (Bighead points out that people could 1. drive to the nearest subway stop or 2. take the Metro North or LIR. Bighead is always pointing out salient counterpoints in the middle of one of my rants and it’s really beginning to get to me. Stupid logic!) Not only is availability an issue but so is service.

I think that the plan is flawed because NYers have long been in the grip of the unreliable (I’m being generous) MTA. Presenting a congestion plan that implies that the MTA would be benefited by yet another influx of money is not going to comfort us. It’s going to make us angry. Too many supposed surpluses have turned out to be mysterious overnight deficits and we’ve submitted to too many fare hikes with no corresponding hike in service. It is foolhardy (and pause-giving) to present a plan to reduce traffic congestion, which ostensibly increases the reliance on mass transit, when there is no plan to increase the service of mass transit. The MTA can hardly service its current customers. How could it possibly handle more?

This is not to say that I do not think that congestion pricing would be beneficial.
I think that it would be quite beneficial. It’s had some success in London and despite being relatively new it seems to be going pretty smoothly. I’m particularly thrilled about the new changes that will be taking place this year with regard to the charges based upon emissions.

I think that any step taken towards reducing our dependence on fossil fuel is a good step. I think that any step taken toward reducing carbon emissions is a good step. I think it’s a good step for NYCity, NYState, the country, the world. (I guess I am becoming a hippie in my old age.) So I am disappointed that a congestion pricing plan did not pass. I am not disappointed that this congestion pricing plan did not pass.

And about that not passing… I’m quite dismayed by the way this happened. Back room votes really chap my hide. I mean even if this plan had a gays’ chance at Oral Roberts U of passing it still should have been defeated by a public vote. People on the NYTimes comments section are all up in arms about cronyism and dirty pool. It’s disappointing is what it is. It’s a real let down to the voters to feel like once again their political voice has been hijacked.

What’s also disappointing is the fact that this plan was struck down and nothing was offered in its stead. Really, how is that at all useful?

• What about increasing the prices on toll roads/bridges?
• How’s about, charging a fee for cars coming and going within a certain radius of Manhattan with with less than two passengers? (Perhaps even making a deal for small business owners making deliveries.)
• Uhm… we could get rid of the bike lanes and put in express bus lanes throughout all 5 boroughs. We could revamp the bus schedules so that directly run to (and from) certain subway stations in the outer boroughs. We could LOWER the mass transit charges and increase the number of trains on the rails.
• Instead of spending all that time and money on the 2nd Avenue subway line pipe dream we could invest in light rail.
• We could make it legal to pool taxi rides with Zone charging during rush hours (a la the transit strike).

I mean, these are just a few things that Bighead and I came up with while watching Law & Order re-runs.

I spent this afternoon thinking, "Does Albany have no imagination or is it just lazy?"
What do you think?