turning traffic congestion into city revenue

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WELLNESS CHECK
This edition leans...

Hey Below the Fold fam,

There’s been a lot of chatter around returning to office culture or maintaining remote work environments. But there’s one part of the equation being overlooked: Traffic congestion.

As a team that's (mostly) based in Los Angeles, which has both major traffic and inadequate public transit systems, we're eager to see how this all plays out and what our own city might be willing to consider.

TODAY'S STORY

U.S. cities consider charging for driving downtown
Sun Aug 29

While cities look for ways to replenish losses faced due to COVID, New York has been working on a new revenue stream since before the pandemic: Congestion fees for driving on roads south of 60th Street in Manhattan, which includes Times Square and many other famous NYC landmarks. The predicted $1B collected would go to improving the bus system, expanding sidewalks, and adding bike lanes.

London introduced a similar fee for drivers entering its city center in 2003, imposed from 7 am to 6 pm. As a result, the city saw traffic speeds boost ~30%, bus ridership rise 70%, and cycling trips doubled (it’s now their fastest growing mode of transportation). The original fee of $6.88 is $20.56 today.

New York has not yet determined their fee but is considering exemptions for low-income families. This was not a concern in London, where low-income households don’t typically have a car and instead benefited from the $2 billion in congestion charges allocated to ramping up bus services. San Francisco also has been working on a congestion fee that will account for inequities like income and disabilities. While San Francisco is early in the planning phases, they — alongside Seattle and Los Angeles — are eagerly watching New York, hoping it sets a precedent for the country.

There’s also the benefit of reduced congestion for the environment, which New York is still studying to determine how much drivers should be charged. Economists have been warning about the threat of car exhaust as early as 1920, with more recent research exposing the size and variety of problems related to it. In the U.S...

Air pollution from traffic congestion causes at least 2,200 premature deaths annually and $18 billion in healthcare costs.
And the economic cost of such congestion was $87 billion in 2018, primarily due to lost productivity.

All that said, 42% of New Yorker voters oppose the plan, with some saying it benefits Manhattan residents at the expense of commuters from other boroughs. This could further delay movement as the city undergoes a leadership change from former Governor Andrew Cuomo to current Governor Kathy Hochul, who is still weighing the political costs of supporting congestion fees. Hochul also comes from an area of New York that relies more on cars than public transit.

🎬 Take Action

The bipartisan infrastructure bill allocates $250M to a congestion relief grant program that any state, local government, or metropolitan planning organization can apply to and use towards innovative solutions to congestion issues.

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RESOURCE CENTER

Wall Street Journal
(Where we found this story)
1 week old | 7 minutes long

Wall Street Journal:
London’s congestion fee
2 years old | 7 minutes long

Politico:
Why U.S. cities are considering congestion fees
6 months old | 13 minutes long

New York Times:

Governor Hochul’s wavering stance on these fees
3 weeks old | 14 minutes long

Harvard Public Health:
Traffic congestion shortens lives
10 years old | 2 minutes long

World Economic Forum:

Economic impact of traffic in 2018
3 years old | 4 minutes long

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ASCII-ING ABOUT THE NEWS

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These new congestion fees are totally unwheelistic!
Art Credit: ASCII.co.uk

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turning traffic congestion into city revenue

🎬 Take Action

RESOURCE CENTER

ICYMI (AGAIN)

Say Goodnight to Clickbait

Older messages

no one wants to be a police officer

the healthcare rankings are in

setting low expectations (of supply chains)

heard on the grapevine…

the great mining migration

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