NYC Congestion Pricing Gets Final Fed Green Light: Hochul
When the MTA will start collecting tolls for cars entering Manhattan below 60th Street remains up in the air. The approval of the federal government of approval for tolls to enter Manhattan below 60th Street has effectively cleared the lane for an MTA panel to set tolls. The final approval effectively guarantees congestion pricing will go forward, but MTA officials still need to decide final tolls and when it'll begin. Opponents have decried tolls as unfair to commuters and congestion pricing as a cash grab for the MTA, but supporters argued that the tolls will cut down on traffic and pollution in the city. Congestion pricing could start as soon as spring 2024.
Published : 10 months ago by Matt Troutman in Environment
The approval announced Monday effectively clears the lane for an MTA panel to set tolls to enter Manhattan below 60th Street. MTA officials have yet to decide on tolls, but have been eyeing fees from $9 to $23.
"Congestion pricing will reduce traffic in our crowded downtown, improve air quality and provide critical resources to the MTA," Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement reported by the Times. "With the green light from the federal government, we look forward to moving ahead with the implementation of this program."
Congestion pricing has long been a goal of MTA officials and environmentalists, albeit a controversial one. The final approval from the federal government, first reported by the New York Times, came at the end of an environmental assessment process long-delayed by former President Donald Trump's administration.
Opponents, notably New Jersey lawmakers, have decried tolls as unfair to commuters and congestion pricing as a cash grab for the MTA, which would receive billions of dollars of funding from congestion pricings. But supporters argued that the tolls will cut down on traffic and pollution in the city.
In the end, the approval effectively guarantees congestion pricing will go forward, but MTA officials still need to decide final tolls and when it'll begin. Congestion pricing could start as soon as spring 2024, the New York Times reported.
Topics: NYC