Singapore-style congestion charge for Manhattan

The Straits Times, April 24, 2007


The Big Apple to go green
Manhattan tackles emissions problem

NEW YORK - MAYOR Michael Bloomberg has laid out an ambitious environmental plan for the city, including a Singapore-style congestion charge for driving in Manhattan and proposals to plant one million new trees.

In a speech to mark Earth Day, Mr Bloomberg on Sunday unveiled 127 broad policy initiatives to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent, increase access to parks, reclaim unused industrial land and reduce water pollution.

'We need to start meeting the challenges we'll face as we grow by nearly one million people' in the coming two decades, he said.

New York currently has around 8.2 million inhabitants.

'Let's face up to the fact that our population growth is putting our city on a collision course with the environment, which itself is growing more unstable and uncertain,' Mr Bloomberg said.

The pilot congestion pricing plan would involve charging cars entering Manhattan from the north US$8 (S$12) during weekdays between 6am and 6pm if they pass south of 86th Street in uptown Manhattan. Those entering by bridges and tunnels already face similar charges.

Cameras and other equipment at intersections would deduct money from a driver's EZPass account or photograph a car's licence plate, with the driver given two days to pay the fee through the mail, online or at certain stores.

Special rules would apply for residents, Mr Bloomberg said, without elaborating, while taxis would be exempt from the fee.

The changes would affect only 5 per cent of the New Yorkers who work in Manhattan, he said.

He said the fee had to be high enough to encourage people to use public transport, but not so expensive as to prove onerous for those who need to drive. 'We believe an US$8 charge would achieve these goals,' he said.

'As a test run, we will seek state authority for a three-year pilot project, and we are very optimistic that, in working with state officials, we will secure hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for it.'

Officials say congestion charging will reduce traffic and pollution while generating money for other transit projects - nearly US$400 million in its first year alone.

But the American Trucking Association was not impressed. Commercial trucks will pay US$21 to enter the zone.

'It will be a real problem for operations for trucking companies and shippers, including all the retailers in Manhattan, which is substantial,' said spokesman Clayton Boyce. 'And all the people who get FedEx and UPS deliveries will have problems and will bear extra expense.'

Other headline announcements by the mayor included a plan to plant a million new trees in the city over the next decade and to reforest some 900ha of parkland.

The 'street-greening' initiative would also involve cleaning up around 3,000ha of brownfield - or former industrial - sites in the city.

Mr Bloomberg has already committed the city to cutting greenhouse gases and says energy conservation and a shift to cleaner and more efficient power plants will stop seven million tonnes of carbon dioxide from being pumped out into the atmosphere every year.

The mayor's plan also addressed water conservation, housing, and energy-related proposals including tax rebates for the installation of solar panels and retiring the city's most inefficient power plants.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, ASSOCIATED PRESS, NEW YORK TIMES