City Council Member Joel Rivera, whose stance on congestion pricing remained unclear until he voted "Yes" on March 31st, came out as a full-fledged supporter yesterday with an editorial in the Daily News. The Bronx rep added another wrinkle to speculation that pricing might come back:
Those of us who voted for pricing and those of us who voted againstit still owe our constituents a plan that brings traffic relief andfunds transit expansion.
I still think congestion pricing is that plan. But pricing or no, weneed to move forward and make good on the promises and expectationsraised during the past year's debate. The Bronx and New York Citydeserve nothing less.
Reading words like that from an elected official bolsters Janette Sadik-Khan's assertion that "the terrain has fundamentally changed" when it comes to transportation issues. But as measures like bus lane enforcement cameras come up for debate in Albany, will the wishes of city lawmakers like Rivera sway obstructionists in the Assembly?
