Congestion Blues Lottery
By Roger Paradiso
CONGESTION CREEPS IN at West 18th Street and 10th Avenue. Photo by Roger Paradiso.
The MTA has already filed a lawsuit against the federal government, arguing revoking federal approval violated “a host of federal statutes and regulations.” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said the agency is confident it will win. “We’re not turning them off, we have an approval that is valid and in effect and we’re not turning them off absent a court order.” – CBS News
Congestion Pricing is turning into a winning lottery ticket for the MTA and Madame Governor Hochul. January’s congestion tax brought in $36.8 million. The estimate is that the EZ Pass dealers will pick the pockets of New Yorkers to the tune of $500 million this year. This is a good gamble for sure. But not if you are already financially stressed by the high cost of living in Manhattan and the gentrified boroughs.
No wonder the King aka Prez Trump wants in on the action. The controversy is another distraction from his grift gang in the White House while he plays apprentice Prez and the country burns.
The Trump administration revoked the program’s federal approval in March, with U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy calling the tolling plan a “slap in the face to working-class Americans and small business owners.”
At a recent MTA board meeting at Grand Central Madison, there was no mention of the latest letter, but Hochul had a message for the Trump administration: “We have said that you may have asked for an orderly cessation—the phrase that came in the letter to us. Orderly cessation. I will propose something in the alternative, orderly resistance.”
I have great sympathy for the MTA. They have an impossible job. That is why I think we need to help them by bringing transportation into the 21st century and out of reliance on underground tunnels. In the subways, the poor citizens fight their way through bad air, rats and crime or the fear of crime. MTA bosses want the ancient subways to be our main transport system by putting EZ Pass into play. A bit of overkill if you ask me. How did we close 14th Street for buses only? By regular traffic signs and traffic police with their enforcement agents. That was simple. And no money went from the pockets of beleaguered citizens to the MTA.
But let’s not quibble. Why not join other cities around the world that have embraced light rail systems, trolleys, monorails and pollution free buses?
Do we want the MTA to go further into the money pit? How about helping them out? Let’s run light rails down the avenues. Or a low budget concept would be to dedicate a lane plus for buses to run up and down the avenues in dedicated lanes.
21st century surface transportation is used all around the world. Why not make Manhattan the best city in the world for transportation? I would like to see a monorail running east to west on 42nd Street. And how about a monorail or light rail straight to LaGuardia Airport from Grand Central Station? How about light rail or buses down the other avenues and trolley buses down the cross streets? I can see the Broadway Express taking tourists and residents from Lincoln Center down Broadway to Battery Park.
Seniors like the idea because they don’t have to worry about tripping down old stairs to wait for the subway. How about parents and their children? Do we want them to take a stroller down the stairs? The subways may be fine with younger folks but modern surface transit will be easier for seniors, parents and people with disabilities.
And now back to the courts of Trump. Will Madame beat the King in the courts so her congestion lottery continues? As opposed to the King, she has in her heart the need to eliminate congestion in Manhattan. I think she is right, but she needs to have more vision.
Hochul said there is a disconnect between the White House and the daily struggles New Yorkers face. “I guarantee the president has never had to endure missing a child’s sporting event because they’re stuck on a delayed train, never had to stand in a flooded subway station because we couldn’t make repairs, sitting in traffic missing an important meeting because you couldn’t get around.”
– Spectrum News
The battle for the streets of New York is continuing. Does it all comes down to money? I do hope we can bring New York City, still in America, up to the 21st century as far as light rail, monorails and free public transportation. Maybe there’s another way, Madame Governor. Maybe there is another dream of a modern Manhattan we should pursue. Excuse me. I gotta turn soon or I will pay nine bucks to drive downtown.
