Congestion Pricing’s Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

A daily mix of stories about cities, city life, and our always evolving neighborhoods and skylines. [Curbed]( WEDNESDAY, MAY 31 STREET VIEW [Congestion Pricing’s Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them]( Lessons from London’s 20 years of experience. Photo-Illustration: Curbed; Photo Getty Images One thing New Yorkers can agree on: There’s too much traffic, and it’s someone else’s fault. I’ve listened to cabbies blame bike lanes for gobbling up space, been yelled at by drivers for crossing the street on foot and interfering with their God-given right to run a red light, heard passengers fulminate at buses for getting all but immobilized, and found myself biking in a narrowing slot canyon between two SUVs. The roads [keep getting worse](, too, as[suburbanites and urbanites both add to their stables of cars](. Congestion pricing, that euphemism for a midtown and lower Manhattan vehicular entry fee, will finally help mitigate the snarl and maybe even quell the snarling. I was in favor of the Bloomberg administration’s first proposal back in 2007, and I believe we need it even more urgently now. The essence is simple: Make drivers subsidize public transit. In a well-tuned system, the relatively few who must — or feel they must — steer their vehicles into Manhattan, anywhere from Central Park to Battery Park, will pay for the privilege. The money helps improve the experience of millions who arrive by train, bus, ferry, bike, or on foot. The toll also lightens traffic (but not too much), which makes driving more enjoyable (but not too enjoyable), purifies the air, and leaves more space for everyone not in a car. Everybody wins. [Continue reading »]( [Join us](today, at 4 p.m. ET, for an exclusive event, [Making The Strategist 100](, where editors will discuss how they curated [their collection of the most-stood-behind products]( that have ever appeared on the site. [RSVP here](. [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( The Latest [This Is the Dirtiest Beach in New York City Congratulations to Douglaston Manor.]( [California Is Becoming Uninsurable State Farm has put a moratorium on new home-insurance customers in the state. It’s a sign of what’s to come.]( By Alissa Walker [East Williamsburg’s Alleged Pigeon Poisoner A Nextdoor thread about a neighbor’s bird-feeding devolves into mutual accusation and suspicion.]( By Clio Chang [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Read More From Curbed]( Introducing The City Desk, a weekly newsletter about New York. [Sign up to get it every Thursday](. [GET THE NEWSLETTER]( [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe]( | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2023, All rights reserved