Easing congestion by banning all vehicle traffic from Times Square
On my list trip to New York for the Auto Show it took an hour and a half to traverse the 15 miles from the Javits Center to Kennedy Airport thanks to the congestion that seems to be an inherent part of life on Manhattan island. Mayor Mike Bloomberg has recently floated the idea of a congestion charge similar to what London England has been doing for over a year now.
Now the city is looking to hire Jan Gehl, who is advocating going beyond a congestion charge and banning cars completely from the Times Square area. Gehl is also proposing eliminating street parking from some city avenues and expanding sidewalks there. The plan to add a $8 charge to drive into lower Manhattan is opposed in the State government and people outside the congestion zone. On the other hand, many groups in the city do support the plan because it would potentially make it easier to get around the city.
[Source: New York Daily News, via Autoblog]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
steven 2:40PM (7/11/2007)
Two possible "unintended consequences" are ready to happen:
1. The new charge will result instead in a disincentive to driving, so the politicians will suddenly have a budget shortfall as they have already come up with a ton of programs on which to spend the expected moneies resulting in other programs being cut or additional taxes and fees established to over the lost "revenues". (I recall reading that this was actually happening in London as the new fees were no longer bringing in the revenues expected as folks actaully avoinded the areas covered by the fees.)
2. By stopping this flow of traffic in this area, the cars will simply clog the remaining available streets making matters, ah, worse...
How about using the subway?
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Chris M 4:38PM (7/11/2007)
Another unintended consequence: It would be nearly impossible to stock the stores on Times square, as trucks would be banned, too. Of course, there would also be a dramatic decrease in customers, so it wouldn't matter as the shops closed and the heart of NYC turned into a weird sort of a ghost town.
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Murc 2:06AM (7/12/2007)
dumb idea.
just use the subway.
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