The United States Department of Transport said in a letter to New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) on February 19, which has terminated its previous approval in the pricing program of the first country in New York. But state officials said they would fight the move, fileing a lawsuit to the Federal Court minutes after receiving the notice.
United States Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, called the program, which aims to reduce traffic congestion, and is planned to help fund the value of billions of dollars of metro, bus and other transport projects. “A slap on the face of the North -working class and small business owners. , In a position on social media, President Donald Trump called for victory, declaring that the congestion of “dead” and New York prices was saved. He added: “View the king!”
Hochul responded at a press conference held at a new Yorl City metro station, saying that the congestion pricing program would remain in force.
“New York has not worked under a king in less than 250 years,” Hochul said, referring to the president’s office. “We are sure hell won’t start now.”
In his demand, New York’s Metropolitan Transport Authority claims that efforts to terminate the “are illegal” program and asks a judge to declare the null and void termination in his demand .
“It is mystifying that after four years of environmental study and 4,000 pages of environmental review, the U.S. dowry intended to reverse the course,” said MTA CEO and CEO, Janno Lieber, at the governor’s press conference. .
Federal officials were just part of a various parties agreement and Trump administration’s shares that wanted to terminate the agreement “obviously do not require [MTA] To stop doing the operation of the program, “says the complaint. “The status quo is that congestion prices continue and, unless and until a court orders the opposite, [MTA] The program will continue to operate as required by New York’s law. “”
Mta Mta MapMTA planned to finance projects with $ 15 billion in bonds to pay with the tolls collected. These projects include the extension of phase 2 of $ 7.7 million from the second avenue, as well as the accessibility improvements to the metro stations, the modernization of the metro signal and the bus infrastructure .
According to MTA complaint, its subsidiary, Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA), previously issued $ 378.8 million in short -term financing notes of infrastructure and already issued $ 500 million in short short notes term funding a part of $ 15 million on projects. TBTA also plans to close a $ 500 million bank loan that supports the capital program this month. It is based on puddle funding to pay these debts. Lieber said MTA has no contingency plan for funding.
“I think it is a real mistake to allow infrastructure projects to be in the whim of the policy of the moment,” says Sam Schwartz, a former New York City Traffic Commissioner and founder of the Traffic Engineering Firm. Sam Schwartz Consulting LLC. “People from other states planning the main infrastructure projects should not be worried that a new administration may come after Trump administration and suddenly kill their projects.”
The congestion price program applies to most of Manhattan south of 60 street, with passenger cars with 9 tolls during rush hours. It came into force on January 5, and MTA data shows that drivers quickly began to modify their patterns, reaching the Manhattan Central Business District (CBD) early in the morning before the maximum prices or taking public transportation .
Reduced congestion
Weekly traveling hours through River Crossings on the CBD in January were reduced through the table compared to a year earlier, from a 10% reduction for drivers who entered Manhattan through the Brooklyn bridges or Manhattan Holland Tunnel, according to MTA. The travel times of the week within the CBD also decreased compared to a year earlier. MTA also said that the bus and subway pilot also increased, as was the driving at some Long Island railway road stations and all metro-north railway stations.
“Neoyorcan people already see faster journeys, less traffic and increased security on the streets, with a fall of 51% of accidents’ injuries,” said Kate Slevin, Executive Vice President of the Regional Association, a civic group Non -profit, in a statement.
Even articles such as restaurant reserves, Broadway show attendance, yellow cabin trips and commercial offices increased in January compared to a year earlier, according to Lieber, which he attributed to the Congestion price program.
Duffy wrote in his letter to Hochul that Trump had asked him to review the approval of the federal road administration, which had been granted in November. Despite the advantages seen so far, Duffy wrote that the scope of the program as an approved “exceeds the authority authorized by Congress” because there is no non -available alternative and, as he stated, tolls were mainly driven by tolls. Due to the need for MTA financing and not for other goals such as reducing congestion.
“Travelers who use the motorway system to enter New York City have already funded the construction and improvement of these roads by payment of gas taxes and other taxes,” said Duffy in a statement. “But now the toll program leaves the drivers without any free alternative and, on the other hand, it takes more money from the people who work to pay a traffic system and not for roads.”
Federal road administration staff will contact the New York State Transportation Department “to discuss the orderly cessation of toll operations under this completed pilot project,” concluded the his letter Duffy. Does not provide a firm completion date.
Schwartz says he hopes that the Trump administration will give to the program at least one year to see if it fulfills its goals, or that Trump can see the benefits in reduced traffic to the Fifth Avenue in front of the Trump tower.
“I think they have exceeded their limits,” he says about the United States Department of Transportation. “This program has been successfully successful, much more than expected. Traffic speeds have increased, traffic injuries have dropped. Broadway is over. All the directions I looked at look good.”
