Yellow light for congestion pricing

Stop. Go. Stop. Go. That has been the status of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's congestion pricing proposal as he tried to push a bill through the state legislature during the past month.
Although Bloomberg did not get the legislature to approve his plan to charge car drivers $8 and trucks $21 to enter Manhattan south of 86th Street on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., the state passed a bill creating a special commission to study the problem of congestion within the city as well as alternatives to reduce air pollution in Manhattan.
In a special summer vote, the State Senate and Assembly approved the bill and Governor Eliot Spitzer signed it into law creating the commission that will have representatives from the Governor's office, Senate, Assembly, Mayor and City Council who will study congestion in Manhattan.
This legislation will help ease severe traffic in the busiest areas of Manhattan, reduce harmful pollutants, improve public health, and offer a dedicated funding source for mass transit,” Spitzer said in a statement. &#8220In addition, reducing severe traffic congestion is essential to the economic well-being of New York City.”
While the bill calls for a commission to study congestion, it does not put Bloomberg's original congestion proposal on the fast track for approval. It will, however, be one of the many proposals studied.
It is also unclear if this bill will accomplish enough for New York to become one of the states to receive up to $500 million in available federal funds, something legislators said is crucial with going ahead with the study.
If it receives federal funding, the commission would begin studying the congestion proposals and have until January 31, 2008 to make its recommendations to the Governor's office, Senate, Assembly, Mayor and City Council with a deadline of March 31 for final approval of the plan.
Meanwhile, City Councilmember John Liu, who is the Chair of the Council's Transportation Committee, continued to emphasize the importance of increasing mass transit options for outer-borough residents.
&#8220We have to focus our efforts on making sure that the commitment to mass transit - especially in the areas that are not served or are not well-served by mass transit today are implemented before congestion pricing,” Liu said.