Actually, if you live in Manhattan the idea of congestion pricing is nice. Chances are, you are well off and don't really care the few extra dollars your groceries and services will cost. You don't own a car anyway, but if you do, you can probably afford parking lots that charge a working mans rent in the outer Boroughs. So why not? Cleaner air, less noise, safer streets to cross all seem like admirable goals. Not bad.....if you have blinders on. Of course what the mayor fails to recognize is the adverse impact this plan will have on the rest of the city. Living in a Manhattnocentric universe one becomes oblivious to the plight of the common people. People in the Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx need their cars. They don't need yet another unfair tax on the middle class. Public transportation is not a convenient alternative to everyone. Speaking as a man who takes the BQE almost every day I don't want to imagine what that will look like if even more traffic is forced there. It's already a nightmare during the day.
My friend in London told me about how the same plan works there. It's great for the downtown residents but everyone living just outside the exclusion zone is miserable. The haves and the have nots all over again. I'll tell you, if the city really wants to implement this plan what are they offering in return to the people? How about some huge parking garages in places near transportation hubs? That would only make sense. You want to increase mass transit, and that is an overall worthy goal but you must help the process along. The function of the government is to help it's citizenry, not make life harder as city officials seem to continually do.
2 comments:
Vlad - the earth clock rules ! !
- and should be a required screen
saver to all who use computers.
- Where did you find it and what
is the link / address so I can set
it up on my machines ???
- Big George
As a Manhattan resident, I welcome congestion pricing as I do not wish to have more cars, trucks and express buses spewing more noxious fumes in the air while continuing to clog the avenues and streets to the point of immobility.
The people in the outer boroughs and suburbs need to realize that Manhattan is an island with a finite amount of space.
Furthermore, it should not take me 50 minutes to travel 4 miles to work by bus. That is unacceptable, and it is rooted in the behavior and attitude of unreasonable outerborough people who feel that it is there right to bring their vehicles wherever they please.
I have lived on this island for 38 of my 39 years, and I have never seen traffic this coagulated. In this particular instance, it is not an issue of rich Manhattanites versus working classes Brooklynites or Queensziens...it is an issue of disincentivizing naive people from bringing their private vehicles onto an already overcrowded island.
Sorry, but if you want the right to drive onto Manhattan island, then you have to pay for it. Nothing is free in this life.
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