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Bloomberg Administration, Council Speaker Quinn on Congestion Pricing's Defeat

Posted by Michael Clancy at 5:30 PM, April 7, 2008

John Gallagher, a spokesman for Mayor Bloomberg, issued the following statement on the death of congestion pricing:

"What we are witnessing today is one of the biggest cop-outs in New York’s history. After insisting on the formation of a commission to make recommendations for a bill, and then for the City Council to vote to endorse that bill, the Assembly needs to stand up and be counted. They owe it to the majority of New Yorkers who support this plan, the scores of environmental groups, public health organizations, business leaders, unions, and the public at large, to put this proposal to a public vote.

Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn issued a statement also:
"I am disappointed that we missed an opportunity to make a significant investment in our mass transportation system, an investment that would have secured the long-term vitality of our city and improved the health of people living in our most congested neighborhoods.

In spite of this setback, the Council remains fully committed to environmental responsibility and to improving and expanding our mass transit system. We must now build new coalitions around forward-looking transportation policy that will improve public health and move people out of their cars and into buses, trains and ferries."

comments

Congestion Pricing is the most moronic idea that has been put forth in ages and I am SO GLAD that it fell through. Who's to tell me how I get to and from where I want to go, and how DARE you charge me EVEN MORE for driving around the NY area.

ONLY WHEN THE PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEM IS A GOOD ENOUGH REPLACEMENT AND A SUPERIOR OPTION TO DRIVING OR TAKING CABS AND CAR SERVICES WILL IT BE OK TO CHARGE PEOPLE FOR DRIVING THEIR OWN CARS!

Posted by: Matt at April 7, 2008 9:31 PM

I am appalled at the failure of congestion pricing. I am a Brooklynite who comes into Manhattan almost every day of the week. The traffic in Manhattan is horrendous. I see it by foot or bicycle. Why anyone thinks that driving -- usually, alone -- is the right approach to Manhattan is beyond me. The sheer self-centeredness and selfishness of this attitude is repellent.

We need to change the way we live. What is it going to take? Here we are in this very rich country, and we cannot live within our means. And driving without cost to oneself -- because it costs others A LOT -- is apparently more important to most New Yorkers than having a livable city.

Frank, Brooklyn

Posted by: Frank at April 7, 2008 11:11 PM

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