Controversy over congestion pricing

A group trying to slam the door on congestion pricing, which might charge drivers a daily fee to enter midtown or lower Manhattan, rallied in opposition to a study released one day earlier by the Partnership for New York City, which has been in favor of the plan in order to curtail traffic.
The Partnership, a powerful group of corporate CEO's, released a study on Monday, December 4, saying New York City's economy loses $13 billion a year because of traffic congestion in Manhattan and the group expressed its desire for a federal study to implement ways to alleviate the problem.
&#8220We think there is a lot of work that needs to be done to study the solutions on both the transit and traffic time,” Partnership President and CEO Kathryn S. Wylde told The Queens Courier. &#8220What we are supporting is a very rigorous study and planning effort.”
However, a coalition made of up business, government, transportation and community groups known as Keep NYC Congestion Tax Free, expressed opposition to congestion pricing.
&#8220There are ways of dealing with the traffic problem without imposing a draconian tax on New York's working class, and that is what our opposition coalition is calling for today,” said former City Councilmember Walter McCaffrey, who is leading the coalition opposed to congestion pricing.
Although Wylde said the report did not advocate for any specific dollar amount for the congestion-pricing model, she said charging a fee should not be confused with a tax since people would have the option to not drive into the area.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg indicated that if city residents were not charged the fee to enter Manhattan, he might be open to listening to a congestion price model, but it is unlikely state lawmakers would agree to that.
&#8220We would argue that this is not a tax, it is not analogous to a commuter tax,” Wylde said. &#8220It is a user fee for those individuals who want to use a scarce commodity, which is the streets of New York.”
Meanwhile, a number of Queens groups have denounced congestion pricing saying that it unfairly put more emphasis on the borough to deal with the problem.
&#8220While no one disputes that congestion is a problem - it is a city-wide problem impacting all five boroughs - any attempt to ease congestion should focus its attention citywide and not shift the burden more heavily to one borough versus another,” said Queens Chamber of Commerce President Raymond Irrera.
Joseph Conley, Chair of Community Board 2, agreed.
&#8220Any congestion tax proposal will further increase traffic on our residential streets encouraging those who wish to avoid the charge to travel through the outer boroughs,” Conley said. &#8220Traffic calming measures simply divert traffic to other areas.”
Councilmember John Liu, Chair of the Transportation Committee, said there is not one solution to eliminate congestion, but he believes increasing express bus service from the five boroughs into Manhattan would cut down on the number of people who drive into Manhattan.