A recent panel voted on Thursday could reach the pockets of New York drivers who want to enter into Manhattan, below 60th Street. The proposal, that will first have to gain the support of the State Legislature, charges an $8 daily fee for each car to enter the area on weekdays, as a response to the traffic congestion that became difficult to handle.
The plan was forwarded by the Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission in its attempt to reduce both traffic issues and air pollution, and it is not the first one of this kind. Mayor Michael Bloomberg also made a proposal to charge $8 for every car and $21 for trucks entering Manhattan below 86th Street in peak hours.
The plan has been voted 13-2, but still needs to wait for an official approval. The figures would account for 6.8% less traffic in Manhattan and $491 million a year budged raise, the commission estimated. The fee would include drivers using FDR Drive and an East River bridge who don’t necessarily stop in Manhattan, but drive through.
The proposal needs to be approved within the next two months: “I would suspect this would go close to the deadline,” Christine C. Quinn, spokeswoman for the New York City Council, said for the New York Times. “The important thing here is we’ve taken a significant step forward to having a congestion pricing plan in the City of New York.”
There are many adept of the proposal out there, but at the same time, many drivers strongly oppose it, especially in Queens, Brooklyn and suburban communities. However, the plan is not expected to have this problem once it reaches the State Senate. Gov. Eliot Spitzer said the plan would benefit all New Yorkers, and that they will have a better transportation system in the future.