60% in Queens oppose mayor’s congestion plan

More than 60 percent of Queens residents are against congestion pricing and 57 percent of residents throughout the city oppose the plan, according to a recent Quinnipiac University poll.
The 57 percent who oppose congestion pricing is up 5 percent from the 52 percent who opposed the plan in a similar poll conducted at the end of July.
However, 55 percent of Queens residents surveyed said they would support congestion pricing if it prevented future fare increases on mass transit and the tolls at the bridges and tunnels compared to 57 percent citywide.
“Congestion pricing is a bad idea, most New Yorkers say, unless politicians use the proceeds to prevent transit-fare increases,” said Maurice Carroll, Director of the Quinnipiac Polling Institute.
In addition, a majority of those surveyed said that tying $354 million in federal funds to a congestion pricing project, which would charge motorists a fee to enter Manhattan south of 86th Street on weekdays to decrease congestion in the central business district, would not increase their likelihood to support the plan. Nearly 52 percent of Queens residents responded that they believe it is federal meddling in a local issue.
Meanwhile, the newly formed New York City Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission, which is made up of 17 members who were appointed by state and city leaders to study congestion in the city and the alternatives it. Three Queens representatives, Gerard Romski, Counsel and Project Director of Arverne by the Sea, Edwin Reed, Chief Executive Officer of Allen Development Corporation and Assemblymember Vivian Cook will serve on the commission.
In addition, Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, who has been a vocal opponent against Mayor Bloomberg’s original congestion pricing proposals, recently unveiled a list of areas that need to be addressed regarding congestion pricing including reopening strategic Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) stations, increasing frequency in LIRR trains to existing stops and add new express bus routes to underserved areas.
Marshall also called on the individual community boards to submit recommendations to her office by September 30, which she will pass along to the commission. The commission has until January 31, 2008 to present its findings to the different city and state agencies, and the federal government is expected to decide by March 31, whether or not to fund the proposal.