Re: Some Subways Found Packed Past Capacity (452114) | |||
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Re: Some Subways Found Packed Past Capacity |
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Posted by WillD on Tue Jun 26 15:53:15 2007, in response to Re: Some Subways Found Packed Past Capacity, posted by Clayton on Tue Jun 26 07:14:26 2007. If they hold off on congestion pricing until the transit system is more than adaquate for the job of handling the folks who suddenly find driving too pricey it will never be implemented. I'd be interested to see just how far beyond capacity the streets in Manhattan are during peak hours. At the very least the implementation of a congestion pricing system could lead to a public outcry to push neccesary transit improvements through the bureaucratic red tape currently holding them back. As it stands right now the commuters can bitch and moan all they want but there's no real push on the politicos to get anything done. I'm inclined to believe that there will be a tipping point at which the number of passengers and the crowding that they experience will combine to create just that push. I hold no illusions as to the ability of the congestion charge to actually fund any of the neccesary improvements, but rather it can act as a key to get the funding to get them built.This of course unless it turns out that NYers are like every other American and will drive no matter the cost. We keep predicting higher and higher costs for fuel that will cause people to give up their cars en masse only to be baffled when they keep driving. Now some of that is due to the fact that most cities don't have any sort of alternative transportation, but some folks truely seem unwilling to abandon their SUVs. If that turns out to be the case then the congestion charge could turn out to be a failure in terms of keeping traffic down, but could turn into a magical money tree from which any sort of project can be funded. In either case what funding results needs to be redirected back into NYC's tranportation needs, something I'm not sure the current legislation would enable. |