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Have I mentioned that I’m a huge fan of New York City’s Department of Transportation Commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan? (Answer: yes, you’ve mentioned it.) She’s more like a rock star than a public official. She bikes to work, is a great speaker, and has traveled to cities all over the world in search of best-practice ideas [...]

… a few selected quotes from yesterday’s wreckage…
• “While some Queens politicians are claiming that the plan is elitist, the reality of it is that the elites killed this plan. With money going toward transit and a better environment for our city as part of the payoff, congestion pricing was and always will be a [...]

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Congestion Pricing Ad, originally uploaded by wka.

As a supporter of Congestion Pricing, I felt that this week was the time to do whatever I can to help get this legislation passed. So last Saturday I [...]

Check out coverage at the NY Observer here, NY Times City Room blog here, and WNYC here…
from City Room:
“I think Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal for congestion pricing is a thoughtful and innovative approach to the problem,” Mr. Obama told Bob Hennelly of WNYC, in an interview that is scheduled to be broadcast during National Public Radio’s [...]

Enrique Peñalosa, former mayor of Bogota, Colombia and a legendary figure in the Livable Streets movement, speaks here with transit activists Commuters United for Transportation Equity (COMMUTE). If you care about our city’s future and particularly the mobility of low-income New Yorkers, have a look.

City Room reports that yesterday’s public hearing on congestion pricing at Hunter College placed two more groups on the supporting side: the Transit Workers’ Union, and a coalition called Communities United for Transportation Equity (aka CommUTe). Representatives of the latter group presented strong arguments for charging private motor vehicles to enter Manhattan’s Central Business District [...]

Courtesy of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign and Pratt Center for Community Development. What else do we need to know?? Let’s hope those politicians who claim to represent low-income New Yorkers in opposing congestion pricing take a look at the household income statistics shown here: less than half of Brooklyn households own cars, and those who [...]

I am disappointed to read that some of our Brooklyn elected officials are still claiming congestion pricing would place an “unfair burden on the poor” — Assemblyman Nick Perry (D–East Flatbush) calls congestion pricing “a wanton exploitation of tax-paying New York City drivers” and Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries (D–Fort Greene) claims “It’s unfair and unjust that [...]

Dan Miner, Sierra Club NYC Group’s Energy Committee Chair, explores the topic of congestion pricing from another perspective:
“Our dependence on cars and trucks is a national security issue… By getting more drivers out of cars and onto mass transit, congestion pricing increases our economic resiliency to fuel price shocks. Because of its many benefits, congestion [...]

I for one will be eagerly following the Q&A taking place on the Times’ City Room blog with newly-appointed Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. Part one of six is up now, and I almost can’t believe what I’m reading… she is talking about the kind of transportation scenario in New York City that [...]