Hopefully a lot of electeds are hearing from Streetsbloggers today. We'd love to know the responses you're getting. To get the ball rolling, here's an account from Streetsblog's Jason Varone:
I just got off a lengthy phone call with a staffer at Joan Millman's Albany office. She was very pretty well versed on the subject and she assured me that Assemblywoman Millman supports the concept of congestion pricing, but is hung up on getting assurances from the mayor about the lock box, transit improvements, and handicap access to subway stations. She mentioned that the 9th Street subway station has no handicap access, and that they have been complaining about this for years, but the city says there isn't enough money to add it.
She said that about 70% of the constituents that have emailed, written and called are in support of the plan -- but they want guarantees that the money will in fact be used for transit. I told her that my personal favorite aspect to the plan is that it will be a clear signal to the public that the government does not want them to drive cars, if they can avoid it. The staffer agreed with me on that. I also pointed out to her that I was a union member, and all of my "working class" friends do not own cars, and that the argument that Brodsky types have been making do not hold any water. She agreed with that too.
Mainly, her office seems to be kind of pissed off at the mayor for not being forthright with the information they have asked for since the idea was first floated. It was my impression that Millman will vote yes, but she will be biting her lip as she does it.
