Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Ad Nauseam

NYC’s “Flawed” Traffic Plan Brought to You by… Toyota


Grim picture: A screenshot from the CBS Channel 2 web site.

CBS's Marcia Kramer adds some splatter paint to the Village Voice's "grim picture of the state of civic engagement" on congestion pricing.

On Tuesday, her Channel 2 special investigative feature let us know that one guy in London has foiled that city's congestion pricing cameras by using a fake license plate. Headline? "Bloomberg Wants to Bring Flawed London Plan to NYC." Oh, and by the way, 2007 Toyota's are priced to move!

CBS 2's award-winning political reporter tells us that "Londoners are now cloning license plates to avoid congestion fees" (note they're not copying license plates -- they're "cloning" them. Terrifying!) She doesn't tell us how widespread the practice is, how many people might be doing it or how it may be impacting a system that has reduced traffic congestion by 70,000 vehicles per day and is raising $250 million a year for mass transit (You'd think it would be easy for an award-winning investigative reporter to find this sort of information). Rather, Kramer gives some airtime to Westchester obstructionist Assembly member Richard Brodsky, incorrectly referring to him as "head of the Congestion Mitigation Commission."

After analyzing all of the public testimony delivered during the recent Traffic Mitigation Commission hearings, Environmental Defense's Neil Giaccobi found that once New Yorkers "get into the details" of what congestion pricing is and how it works "they come around to it." But right now, most New Yorkers "fundamentally don't understand what congestion pricing is."

Is it any wonder why?

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Beach Reading: Zohran Mamdani’s Answers to Streetsblog’s Mayoral Candidate Survey

Spend the holiday weekend with Zohran Mamdani's answers to Streetsblog's mayoral candidate questionnaire.

July 4, 2025

Friday Video: Why NYC Needs ‘Low-Traffic Neighborhoods’

London's Church Street, like so many of our business corridors, was choking on cars — until the advent of the low-traffic neighborhood.

July 4, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: E-Bikes in Parks … Permanently Edition

The Parks Department will permanently allow e-bikes in city parks following a two-year pilot. Plus more news.

July 4, 2025

Anti-Miracle On 34th Street: Adams Administration Pauses Work On 34th Street Busway

The highly-anticipated 34th Street busway may not happen under Mayor Adams after all, sources said.

July 3, 2025

Manhattan DA Says Alleged Central Park Hit-and-Run Cyclist Didn’t Flee, Drops Charges

Prosecutors said the 30-year-old cyclist "remained on the scene for about 45 minutes after the crash and waited for paramedics to arrive to treat the injured person."

Sean Duffy’s ‘Great America Road Trip’ Wants You to Drive to Central Park

Sean Duffy's "Great American Road Trip" encourages Americans to drive to sites in the most transit-rich and car-choked parts of the country.

July 3, 2025
See all posts