Congestion Pricing

Sewell Chan at the New York Times' Empire Zone has more on this morning's meeting between Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Spitzer and US Dept. of Transportation secretary Mary Peters:

Is Mayor Bloomberg actually going to pull this off? Governor Eliot Spitzer came out in favor of congestion pricing this morning. Elizabeth Benjamin at the Daily News reports:

With a scant few weeks left in the session, the state Assembly has scheduled the first of six hearings on PlaNYC -- including, of course, congestion pricing -- for Friday at 10 a.m. in the auditorium of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, at 42 West 44th Street.

On Saturday, seventeen New York City and State elected officials stood with the Campaign for New York's Future and officially endorsed PlaNYC. They are:

With many New York City elected officials expressing concern that Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing study will create numerous problems in the neighborhoods just outside the charging zone, now is a good time to take a look at the extensive "Boundary Impacts Study" undertaken by Transport for London in its Fourth Annual Monitoring Report

Local elected officials appear to be moving from a "tax on the middle class" critique of Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing proposal to a "park-and-ride" argument. Check out these two letters from senior Brooklyn Assembly member Joseph Lentol to constituents. In the first letter, written May 15, Lentol says that he is giving congestion pricing "his full review and consideration." He expresses no specific opinion or concerns about the plan:

New York City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan enjoys a lighter moment with Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz as Noah Budnick of Transportation Alternatives welcomes cyclists to the 2007 Tour de Brooklyn.

It seems inconceivable given the overwhelmingly positive developments of the past few weeks, but the city wants to increase parking in Manhattan by some 20,000 spaces, and is defending itself in court for the right to do so.