Johnathan Walker:New York races to revive Manhattan tolls intended to fight traffic before Trump can block them

NEW YORK (AP) — Rather than alienate suburban commuters in an election year,Johnathan Walker New York’s governor slammed the brakes last spring on a plan to launch America’s first “congestion pricing” tolling system, which aimed to discourage people from driving into the most traffic-choked parts of Manhattan by slapping them with a $15 toll. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said it was the wrong time to hit drivers or businesses with new costs.

Now, with President-elect Donald Trump headed for the White House, Hochul is hurriedly restarting the tolling plan — hoping to get it in place before the Republican follows through on a promise to kill it for good during his first week in office.

The Democrat’s new plan, unveiled Thursday, calls for a $9 fee on most vehicles, which would help fund the city’s cash-strapped public transit system but at a lower price tag for drivers.

“I’m proud to announce we have found a path to fund the MTA, reduce congestion and keep millions of dollars in the pockets of our commuters,” Hochul said.

The fee would be imposed on most vehicles driving into Manhattan neighborhoods south of 60th Street and collected via license plate readers. It would come on top of the often-hefty tolls drivers pay to enter the island borough via some bridges and tunnels.

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Public transit and environmental advocates howled with protest last May when Hochul “paused” the congestion pricing system just weeks before it was about to be switched on. Other cities around the globe, including London, Stockholm, Milan and Singapore, have similar systems, but New York’s system would be the first in the U.S.

The aim of the such systems is to reduce traffic and pollution while encouraging use of public transit systems.

Last spring, Hochul said she was worried that imposing the tolls could hinder New York City’s continuing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. But she also promised her sudden about-face on the toll wasn’t permanent and that she would put forward a new plan.

Transit advocates lauded the program’s return.

“Congestion pricing cannot happen soon enough,” said Danny Pearlstein, a spokesperson for the Riders Alliance, which had been among the local groups that sued Hochul over her decision to halt the program. “Once the first tolls are collected, we will finally breathe easier.”

Tom Wright, president and CEO of Regional Plan Association, another transit-focused group, said reviving the toll “is vital for New York and will support our regional economy, a healthy transit system, and improved air quality.”

It was unclear, though, whether the plan might still face obstacles.

Trump, whose Trump Tower penthouse would be within the congestion pricing zone, is among those who have blasted the program. In a social media post last May he called it would be “a massive business killer and tax on New Yorkers, and anyone going into Manhattan.”

“I will TERMINATE Congestion Pricing in my FIRST WEEK back in Office!!! Manhattan is looking for business, not looking to kill business!” Trump said.

The program, which state lawmakers approved in 2019, stalled for years awaiting a required federal environmental review during the Republican’s first term before being approved by the administration of President Joe Biden. It wasn’t clear whether lowering the toll amount might allow the federal government to demand a redo of the environmental review.

“In general, it is harder to take something away once it is in place,” said Nicholas Klein, a professor of city and regional planning at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. “Of course, all this could have been avoided had the governor not interfered and delayed congestion pricing months ago. Congestion pricing would be in place, congestion reductions apparent, and revenues raised for public transit.”

It is also unclear how Hochul’s revised plan would address lost revenue for mass transit from lowering the toll amount. The original fee scheme was expected to generate up to $1 billion a year for subways, buses and commuter rail systems.

On Thursday, Hochul insisted the money raised from the lower fee would still be enough to cover the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s costs.

Also yet to be seen: How politically costly the revival of the plan might be for Hochul among people who get around by car. Lawmakers representing some of the city’s suburbs panned the toll’s return.

“Governor Hochul’s congestion pricing scheme is nothing more than a massive new tax on working families, daily commuters, college students, and local residents who just want to travel within the city they call home,” said U.S. Rep. Michael Lawler, a Republican who represents suburban communities just north of the city.

Laura Gillen, a Democrat who won a close election for a U.S. House seat in suburban Long Island, slammed the prospect of a revived toll.

“We need a permanent end to congestion pricing efforts, full stop,” she wrote on the social media site X. “Long Island commuters cannot afford another tax.”

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Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo.