Manhattan they make up a small
minority of city traffic, says Yermack.
He thinks this fact will have
implications for the scheme, which
will have to lean more heavily on
ALPR for enforcement.
Though Yermack doesn’t
anticipate this being a
problem since “ALPRs
are pretty effective and
are up into the high
nineties in terms of
compliance.”
What price to pay?
While no pricing has yet
been announced most
experts expect that the
congestion charge will
mirror earlier proposals which
set pricing at similar levels to the fees
currently in place on the tolled
bridges and tunnels – between $12
and $15. This figure is expected to
double for trucks.
| NYC Congestion Charge
Our position is that it should be
the same price to drive into the
congestion zone no matter where you’re
coming from
Kate Slevin, senior vice president of the Regional Plan
Association, Greater New York region
current tolling model, says Kate
Slevin, senior vice president of the
Regional Plan Association, an urban
transportation thinktank for the
Greater New York region.
“We have a unique situation in
New York,” says Slevin. “The tolling
system on the bridges and tunnels is
very chaotic. Depending on which
way you are entering Manhattan
you’re paying a different toll rate and
in some cases – if you enter from
Brooklyn, for example – you’re
paying nothing at all.”
As part of the scheme’s
implementation Slevin says the tolls
need to be rationalized to put an end
to what she calls “toll shopping”,
whereby drivers look for the cheapest
way to get into the city. “Our position
is that it should be the same price to
Motorists
who enter the
congestion zone
after crossing into
Manhattan on one of
the tolled facilities will
likely receive a credit that
will be automatically deducted from
the congestion fee.
Though integrating the scheme
with the bridges and tunnels will
require a complete rethink of the
drive into the congestion zone no
matter where you’re coming from,”
she says.
Although the exact geography of
the zone has yet to be confirmed, all
the indicators are that it will mirror
the zone proposed by the Bloomberg
administration in 2008 – an area
comprising all of Manhattan south
of 60th street.
Exempted from the zone will be
the two highways that orbit
Left: The streets
south of 60th street
are likely to be in
the congestion
charge zone
Below: NYC residents
need not worry: this
style of gantry won’t
appear on the streets
of Manhattan
2021 The expected year
Manhattan’s
congestion charge
will go live
September/October 2019 Traffic Technology International
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