Submitted by Susan, Dec 11, 2007 11:02

The more people learn about congestion pricing, the less they like it, according to recent polls. I was one of those who testified at the hearings, which was made (deliberately?) very difficult by short notice, no publicity, and onerous pre-registration of statements. Only because Senator Duane informed me by email was I able to participate. I waited hours, because the hearing I attended at Hunter was incredibly disorganized. Many left without being able to speak.

I believe that congestion pricing is just another way to make Manhattan into a safe, convenient playground for the rich, for whom $8 is trivial, but for whom being stuck in traffic is a drag. Meanwhile, the rest of us are stuck on even more crowded, miserable, inconvenient, lengthy public transit rides that, even according to the MTA, cannot handle any more traffic. Their solution, unbelievably, is that we should travel off-peak on lines that aren't overcrowded because they don't go where we need to go at the time we need to be there; few of us are riding the subways just for the fun of it—we have to be at work in a specific place at a specific time, which usually involves those trains that are already over capacity. As to the mayor's let them eat cake attitude, I'm sure the trains aren't that crowded when you're surrounded by guards with guns, and you only have to travel one stop after being delivered to the optimal station by two gas guzzling SUVs. And some of us can't leave home at 6:00 a.m. to beat the rush—we have families and responsibilities, and no staff to take care of them for us.

As to the transparently bogus asthma risk reduction, this plan brings MORE traffic to the worst affected areas, poor neighborhoods outside the designated zone. And the claim that congestion reduction is the aim is also demonstrably bogus; note that taxis and limos are exempted from the tax, even though they operate almost exclusively in the areas of Manhattan best-served by public transportation—but they cater to the well-off, who cannot be inconvenienced.

I certainly do not support a plan developed by billionaires and millionaires to turn over public roads to the rich as a private benefit. When the mayor gives up a private jet and helicopter, among other polluting luxuries such as multiple huge homes, maybe I'll be ready to listen to his plans for the rest of us. And please note that while NYC taxpayers who support the building and maintenance of these roads will pay this regressive tax, commuters who don't even pay a commuter tax any more, but use all city services, will get a free ride by deducting bridge and tunnel tolls; the mayor confirmed that New Jersey commuters would be unaffected by his plan. Exactly who is supposed to be representing the already maximally taxed residents of this city, the only ones stuck with both DOT maintenance costs and the full freight of this tax, among our elected representatives?

If a public facility needs ot be restricted, it should definitely NOT be based on who can pay the most.

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