Letters to the Editor
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‘Growth or Gridlock?’
In response to the letter from the Queens Chamber of Commerce President, Raymond Irrera [OpEd Letters, Thursday, July 6, 2006] expressing his economic concerns toward his borough and the City on why congestion pricing would not work here. There are some counterpoints:
First, his assertion that congestion pricing increases traffic congestion to the outer perimeter of the pricing zone is too simplistic. London and Stockholm experiences indicate that the entire trip mindset is altered from the point of origin, not just at the pricing-zone edge. That is, current motoring commuters bound for Manhattan would seek to change the entire trip from their front door or to a point nearby to allow for a public transit connection.
Second, he is correct in his caution about our seemingly overtaxed transit system being able to handle increased ridership; however, I prefer to view this as an opportunity for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to upgrade its system. Even with a better transit system, drivers are simply too tied to their steering wheels to shift modes on their own. The City must ply people out of their cars through disincentives.
His offering of the high, but certainly not astronomical, cost of gasoline as a devastating example of a congestion pricing paradigm fails to acknowledge the possibility that such higher prices may have a positive effect — lower vehicle miles traveled to conserve gas in the tank, reduced emissions, higher vehicle occupancies through informal carpooling, and trip combining, which decreases short trips.
Third, he cites some measures in place on Staten Island as the paragon for the rest of the City, but here too he misses the mark. The mayor’s task force offered basic strategies as short-term measures, but travel on Staten Island remains difficult, and congestion is far from solved, as evidenced by State Senator John Marchi’s introduction of a bill to create a program that would earmark a portion of a new-development fund for investment in transportation infrastructure.
Mr. Irrera seems to reason that because some are not willing to pay the price of solving the issue of congestion, even when the price is low, the problem is not really as serious as it has been made out to be and solving it would cost more than it is worth. Well, using the New-York-like dense London example, people do accept traffic congestion as a serious problem, because they have accepted paying for its remedy. Congestion has been reduced there, independent analyses show, carbon monoxide pollution is down, and more people are taking the bus.
STEVEN SCALICI
Staten Island, N.Y.
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