The Future Congestion Pricing Zone is Polluted and Dangerous. Congestion Pricing Will Help.
New York City’s streets are the most congested of any city in the United States. The costs are significant: high rates of asthma, air pollution, traffic injuries, and traffic fatalities, and $20 billion in lost operating costs, revenue, and travel time every year. Most of this traffic is concentrated into an area of Manhattan where the fewest residents or workers own cars — the central business district and future congestion pricing zone, including all streets in Manhattan below 60th Street. Pricing access to this area is expected to reduce congestion, improve bus speeds, lower air pollution and asthma rates, and decrease pedestrian injuries by as much as 20%.
Spatial Equity Findings on Congestion Pricing Analyzed By State Assembly District
The future congestion pricing zone is currently very congested. In the State Assembly districts that make up the congestion pricing zone, there are 78% more vehicle miles traveled and 20% slower bus speeds, compared to the average district.
The future congestion pricing zone is polluted and dangerous. In the State Assembly districts that make up the congestion pricing zone, PM 2.5 levels are 19% higher than the average district and 60% higher than the upper limit recommended by the World Health Organization. Serious traffic injuries are 26% higher than the average district.
Residents of the congestion pricing zone face congestion-related quality of life issues. The State Assembly districts that make up the congestion pricing zone are the most traffic-congested in the U.S., however, one in three residents in these districts walks to work and 79% of households do not own a car. In addition to causing inequitable levels of pollution and traffic violence, this congestion affects quality of life: these State Assembly districts have 24% less tree canopy, 41% less permeable surface area, and 13% fewer benches than the average district – that’s just one bench for every 5,000 residents — because so much public space is given over to traffic congestion.
Recommendations
Create a “Green Commuter Cash-Out Program” by passing legislation permitting New Yorkers who bike, walk, or take public transit to work to “cashout” the funding that their employers provide for parking as a reward for choosing green transportation. A study of California’s Transportation Benefits Equity “cash-out” program found that as a result, solo driving to work fell 17%, carpooling increased 64%, transit ridership increased 50%, and walking or biking increased 39% with no costs to businesses or the state.
Convert car space freed-up by congestion pricing into space for people. Congestion pricing will dramatically reduce traffic volumes throughout New York City, freeing up acres of public space. The Department of Transportation must immediately publish a plan for putting this space to higher use, including converting car lanes into protected bike lanes, car-free busways and bus lanes, and new pedestrian spaces that ensure that every New Yorker feels the benefits of congestion pricing.
