(photo credit: sjeacle on flickr)How About A New York City License Plate With Special Privileges?
(Yes, I try to do it all: blog AND solve N.Y.C.'s congestion problems)
Lets not kid ourselves, traffic is a nightmare in Manhattan. However, congestion has been a problem in the Outer Boroughs as well. The streets of Brooklyn have become so impassable that simply driving from Carroll Gardens to Brooklyn Heights takes longer than just walking. So yes, we need to find a solution. It makes sense to encourage people to take public transportation. However, I don't think that Mayor Bloomberg's idea of charging people was fair to New York City residents. Under Bloomberg's Congestion Pricing plan, cars entering Manhattan below 86th Street between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. weekdays would have been charged $8. The problem is that the plan treated New York City residents the same as non- city residents. It especially put an unfair burden on Outer-Borough folks. As a Brooklynite, I felt a bit offended that I pay city taxes but was going to be charged the same as if I lived in New Jersey.
But how about a fairer plan for New Yorkers? If I were Mayor of this city, I would issue a special New York City license plate or sticker. This would accomplish several things:
1) Free passage on the proposed bridges to and from Manhattan for NYC residents
2) Monitor and discourage non-city residents from using our communities as commuter parking lots.
3) Will make it easier to introduce residential parking in certain neighborhoods
4) Discourage New Yorkers from registering and insuring their cars outside of New York City.
And wouldn't it be incredibly cool to have a New York City license plate?
A realistic plan to relieve traffic in our city is desperately needed and would be better than doing nothing. However, my family and I already take the subway when we go into Manhattan. The few times we take the car, we should not be treated the same as out-of-towners.
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2 comments:
The problem if traffic is everywhere and by everywhere not just NYC.
As your picture shows and was my pet peeve against his plan - was that congestion in Midtown where I work is mostly about cabs and limos. The 2nd proposal added a $1 charge for those fares - but that was token amount. So plan seemed very elitist. OK to clog with cabs and limos (read Manhattan residents and business people) but not ok for someone with own car.
To me - if Bloomberg got rid of 90% of city parking permits - that would go a long way to improving things.
I do applaud his idea of getting the yellow cabs to go hybrid - but that does ignore all the huge SUV limos all over midtown taking up curb space supposed to be fro turcks.
You actually should be treated the same as out-of-towners for driving into Manhattan. You have more diverse, less expensive transit access, and therefore less of an excuse to use a private auto. Special exemptions should not be made for city residents, but for those with circumstances beyond their control such that transit is NOT an option (disabilities, medical emergencies, etc.).
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