Don't Tell Tony
| I ran across this news article
the other day and it's kind of scary. In New York City, officials are
going to start charging a Congestion Tax on commuters. Can you believe
that? It's hard to imagine anything so crazy. But who would have ever
thought that city officials would ever pass a Rain Tax, like Lenoir City
did. Oh my goodness, don't anybody tell Lenoir City mayor, Tony Aikens, about the idea of a congestion tax. Given his love for raising taxes, don't think he wouldn't pass it if he could and with traffic as bad as it is in Lenoir City, the mayor and city could make a fortune. Shhhhhh.. Please don't let Tony know. Congestion Pricing Plan in New York City Clears Final Federal Hurdle June 26, 2023
Congestion
pricing in New York City cleared its final federal hurdle, all
but ensuring that the first such program in the nation will
begin next year in an effort to reduce traffic and pollution in
Manhattan and fund improvements to mass transit.
The
program would charge drivers a fee to enter Manhattan south of
60th Street with the aim of discouraging cars from squeezing
into one of the world’s busiest commercial districts.
Final
approval was granted by the Federal Highway Administration, a
spokeswoman said Monday, and a local panel appointed by the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority can now decide on final
toll rates, including any discounts, exemptions and other
allowances.
The M.T.A.,
which runs the city’s subways and buses and the metropolitan
area’s commuter railroads and is overseeing the congestion
pricing program, hasn’t set a fee scale yet. But a report that
it released in August showed that one proposal under review
would charge $23 for a rush-hour trip into Midtown and $17
during off-peak hours.
The
authority says the tolling program could begin as soon as spring
2024.
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7/3/23