Green Jersey

N.Y. Council approves congestion pricing

Above: The Lincoln Tunnel, N.J. entrance

The New York City Council tonight approved a plan to charge most drivers $8 to enter Manhattan below 60th Street on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

This wouldn’t mean much to New Jersey drivers, except maybe cleaner New York air, eventually — drivers with E-ZPass would receive a credit for same-day bridge or tunnel tolls, not paying any more than they do now. Drivers with E-ZPass who enter Manhattan from elsewhere would pay $8; drivers without E-ZPass, $9.

The tolls are to be used for mass transit improvements; the mayor has said the city will qualify for $354 million in federal grants for mass transit improvements if the legislature approves the plan by Monday.

Jersey drivers were spared an additional charge by a recent amendment to the plan. From the City Room blog of the New York Times:

In recent days, amid negotiations between Gov. David A. Paterson, state and city lawmakers and the Bloomberg administration, the legislation was amended to give breaks to low-income drivers and to allow commuters who cross the Hudson River from New Jersey to pay only tolls — not an additional congestion charge — if the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey agrees to make a $1 billion contribution to the M.T.A. capital budget.

The proposal now goes to Albany. Implementation is still a long way out — March 31, 2009, if the legislature approves, according to Mayor Bloomberg (via the Times).