NYC and LI need a workable congestion plan

Now, the real work begins.

With federal approval of New York's plan to toll Manhattan's central business district, state and local officials must determine how to make congestion pricing workable and acceptable. Done properly, the toll system, the first of its kind nationwide, will be a critical way to address climate change, improve air quality, make New York City streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians, and enhance residents' quality of life and the experience of visitors.

But so far, the messaging has been wrong, including an unfortunate focus on the toll's ability to feed the bottomless appetite of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Congestion pricing — the concept and even the phrase — is now an easy target for critics and is already being framed as the next battle in the city-suburban political wars. It's fair to question the value of throwing more cash at an agency not known for spending it wisely. But the larger goals are paramount. Instituting a toll to reduce Manhattan congestion is necessary but it won't be easy.

As officials determine the tolling system's structure and pricing, they must recognize the region's post-pandemic mindset. Companies are still coaxing employees back to the office and the MTA is still luring riders back to trains and buses, a task complicated for the region's commuters by the Long Island Rail Road's new schedules and tricky transfers in the wake of Grand Central Madison's opening.

Devising a plan is up to the six-member Traffic Mobility Review Board, which includes Long Island Federation of Labor president John Durso. It will have to balance the larger goals with the toll amounts, when they will be in effect, and who qualifies for an exemption. The board must be willing to consider new approaches and recognize that any plan will require tweaks as it is implemented.

The board should focus first on the trucks that often clog streets in the central business district. Making travel during overnight hours free — or charging a nominal cost — could change truck drivers' habits. But the board also must grapple with difficult decisions on how to charge essential workers and others who might desire exemptions, but whose vehicles still add to the detrimental impacts. Cabs and for-hire vehicles also contribute to these problems. But federal rules added a cap so they'll be charged just once per day, in part to protect the drivers' livelihoods. The board should consider more innovative solutions including, as some have discussed, possibly adding surcharges directly to the passenger's bill. 

Beyond the board's work, the city should enforce bus lane and parking regulations, and add bus and bike lanes and better pedestrian pathways.

A successful congestion tolling program will make the streets safer, the air more breathable, and life more livable. Whether you live, work or play in the city, that would be a big win.