The federal government gave its final blessing for the now-stalled congestion pricing program, reiterating the economic significance of the program and all but eliminating any political cover from the Biden administration for Gov. Kathy Hochul’s last-minute postponement.
The Federal Highway Administration issued a report late Friday determining that the final toll structure for the MTA’s plan to charge most motorists $15 to enter the busiest part of Manhattan would not negatively impact the environment and would be a boon to the region’s economy.
“The Final [environmental assessment] and reevaluation found economic benefits from [congestion pricing] through travel-time savings and travel-time reliability improvements, as well as reduced vehicle operating costs,” federal transit officials wrote in a 14-page executive summary on the approval. The document adds that the tolls are “not anticipated to result in meaningful change in cost for most consumer goods.”
Findings in the Friday report run contrary to Hochul’s recent remarks in defense of the indefinite pause; she has argued that congestion pricing could stifle the region’s post-pandemic recovery and result in “everything from the cost of a piece of pizza is going to go up because there’ll be charges imposed that’ll be passed onto consumers.”
The report could bolster legal challenges against Hochul’s indefinite pause, and may embolden MTA board members who are now grappling with a multi-billion dollar hole in the authority’s capital plan to publicly challenge the governor’s reversal when they convene for a board meeting on June 26.
Among the federal government’s findings are that the congestion pricing program would result in a 17% drop in the number of vehicles traveling below 60th Street in Manhattan. The tolls would raise enough revenue for MTA officials to bond $15 billion to invest in improvements to the subway, buses and commuter rail.
The FHWA’s report also emphasized that with final MTA tweaks and investments in mitigations, “some of the adverse effects no longer occur and many are on the lower end” of those that were disclosed in the final environmental assessment of the tolling program. Congestion pricing ultimately “meets the purpose and need of reducing traffic congestion in the [central business district], while generating revenue for future transportation improvements,” the report states.
In a statement, MTA Deputy Chief of External Relations Juliette Michaelson said the authority is “pleased, and not surprised, the federal government has once again determined that congestion pricing will not adversely affect the environment, the economy, or environmental justice communities.” She added that the agency remains “ready and committed to work with our partners in government so New Yorkers can realize the benefits of the congestion relief.”
The FHWA’s report came just one day after the MTA and both the city and state transportation departments had requested that federal transit officials continue with its reevaluation of the final tolls, since congestion pricing is on a temporary pause and not an outright cancellation. John Lindsay, a spokesman for Hochul, said the report allows the governor to “keep all options available as discussions continue regarding next steps.”
Friday’s document clears the way for the MTA to move forward with what’s known as a “Value Pricing Pilot Program” agreement. Officials with the federal government, the MTA and city and state departments of transportation must all sign on to the agreement before flipping the switch on the tolls, but Hochul has hit the brakes on the process.
The governor has indicated that, for the time being, the state’s Transportation Commissioner, Marie Therese Dominguez, will not sign the agreement.
Caroline Spivack , 2024-06-17 17:40:00
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