Ben Fried reports live from the City Council congestion pricing hearing, underway at City Hall:
According to Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, without congestion pricing:
- Western Queens will not see a 39% reduction in its most severe traffic jams and a 6.1 percent reduction in total traffic; will not get new bus routes from Middle Village to South Ferry in Lower Manhattan, and from Jackson heights to Penn Station; and will not get improved service on the Q60 bus route or 46 new subway cars that would increase service frequency on the E and F trains
- Western Queens may lose state-of-the-art train control on the 7 line that would allow trains to run faster and closer together for better, more frequent service
- North-central Brooklyn will not see a 22.1% reduction in severe traffic jams, 33 more buses on the B41 line, or more capacity on the C line
- North-central Brooklyn may lose BRT on Nostrand Avenue and upgraded PA systems on stations on the G line
- The northeast Bronx won't see an 8.3% reduction in severe traffic jams or three new express bus routes to Lower Manhattan
- The northeast Bronx may lose extension of BRT service to Pelham Parkway and upgraded service on the 5 line
UPDATE. More transit and traffic benefits, including improvements for Staten Island, that will be threatened if congestion pricing fails to pass:
- Staten Island won't see a 12.3% reduction in severe traffic jams or 33 new express buses
- Staten Island may lose BRT along Hylan Boulevard, 64 new cars for the Staten Island Railway, and a new Arthur Kill railway station
- Lower Manhattan will not receive a 32.3% reduction in severe traffic jams and a 6.4% reduction in total traffic, 33 new buses on half a dozen lines, or greater capacity on the E, F and C lines
