sustainableflatbush.org

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 for improving our streets and transportation systems.

Yesterday Sadik-Khan gave a talk at the Municipal Arts Society to unveil a new strategic plan for 2008 and beyond called “Sustainable Streets”. Many people were unable to attend because the reservations were at capacity a week before the event (it’s that rock star thing). Fortunately Clarence Eckerson of Streetfilms was able to wangle entrance for himself and his camera to record the event for posterity:

Streets

Thanks Clarence! You rock too!

… 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 populist plan.”
(Second Avenue Sagas)

• “The ball is in your court Mr. Silver. The city needs tens of billions of dollars in new transit infrastructure investment. This plan has died on your doorstep. Now it’s up to you to FIND THE MONEY.”
(Brooklyn Streets, Carroll Gardens)

(And how about Silver’s statement: “Let me be clear: If I were making the decision alone, I might have made a different decision,” Mr. Silver said. Actually, he’s being as UNclear as possible, so that when budget deficits and fare hikes rear their ugly heads he can always say he MIGHT have made a different decision! What a coward…)

• “The fundamental facts remain the same. The traffic problem and air pollution problems are real. The need for better transit is real. Two-thirds of New Yorkers support congestion pricing if the funds are used for transit. The success of congestion pricing in other cities is real. The reality is that we have to come up with a plan to solve our traffic and transit crisis, if not today then tomorrow.”
(Michael O’Loughlin, Campaign for New York’s Future)

• “It will be interesting to see how the country’s most worthless and corrupt state legislative body will justify raising transit fares (a “TAX” on the working class if ever there was one). They seem perfectly comfortable voting for a 22% pay raise for themselves- for a part time job. How can they justify turning down 350 million in federal money for the rest of us??”
(Streetsblog comment)

• “More important than the cost to a small percentage of commuters is the cost of maintaining the status quo and not implementing a congestion pricing plan. Millions more people will clog our roads over the next few decades without viable alternative mass transportation options, making daily commutes far more unbearable.”
(Nassau County Assembly Democrat Michelle Schimel, via Streetsblog)

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 spent some time in Crown Heights (Brooklyn) asking people to take the time to compose a personal letter in their own handwriting to their local representatives (in that case State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries and State Senator Eric Adams). I was quite amazed at how many people were willing to do this (it’s not an easy thing to ask for!). On Monday morning I went to City Hall for the Council hearings (wearing the green t-shirt pictured below) and heard testimonies from Speaker Quinn and DOT Commissioner Sadik Khan. Yesterday morning I was part of a small group that met with an aide to City Council member Kendall Stewart, who represents the 45th District (Flatbush, East Flatbush, Flatlands), and I also spoke briefly with Stewart himself afterwards.

What I can attest to from talking to ordinary citizens (meaning, NOT politicians) is that even those who weren’t sure where they stood on Congestion Pricing (or knew nothing at all about it) were in favor when told that the revenue would be dedicated to improving subway and bus service. A few expressed understandable skepticism that the money would actually be used for transit improvements, but were somewhat reassured when told that it would go to a dedicated lockbox.

As for our elected officials, many of them seem to be earnestly asking for the data and information that will enable them to answer their constituents’ doubts. Questions about neighborhood parking permits and whether New Jersey and Long Island commuters should pay more than those from the five boroughs seem to be sticking points for some people. But for those of us who don’t drive – a solid majority in all five boroughs – the need for better bus and subway service is not in question.

More posts on Congestion Pricing and Transit Equity in New York City:

• Obama Supports Congestion Pricing!
• Enrique Peñalosa on Transit Equity for NYC
• A Brooklyn Youth’s View on Congestion Pricing
• More Supporters for Congestion Pricing
• Brooklyn and Congestion Pricing: The Numbers

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 “All Things Considered” at 4 p.m. Mr. Obama said that revenue from congestion pricing should not replace federal financing for mass transit, WNYC said in a statement describing the interview.

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 and allocating the revenue toward public transit improvements:

“The mass-transit system is failing those of us who need it the most, while truck and car-related infrastructure running through our neighborhoods wreaks havoc on our health. Having a long commute takes away time from families and communities, and poor transit access means poor job access because you can’t take a job that you can’t get to,” said Silvett Garci­a, an official at Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, a nonprofit group in the Soundview section of the Bronx.

The group called not only for congestion pricing as a way to finance mass transit and reduce traffic, but also for the city to hasten its plans to start a bus rapid transit program. Bus rapid transit, or B.R.T., is a catch-all term for innovations like bus designated lanes, special traffic signals that are programmed to prioritize buses, and bus stops that are few in number and spread out across high-volume stations where passengers pay their fares before getting on board.

“A congestion pricing plan increases investment while reducing pollution, and B.R.T. is the fair, fast and necessary way to reach the transit dependent – those who live or work in the gaps of the subway system and who cannot afford a car, cab or premium commuting fare, the elderly, and the handicapped,” said Cynthia Doty, organizer for the West Harlem/Morningside Heights Sanitation Coalition, another community organization. “As the congestion pricing debate moves from the commission to the city and state legislatures, we should focus on the half million working-class New Yorkers with treacherous commutes.”

It’s been said here before: 97.3% of Brooklyn’s workers (those who do not commute alone to the Central Business District in Manhattan by private car) would be positively affected by the transit improvements that revenue from congestion pricing is targeted to fund; and B.R.T. is a quickly-implementable transit innovation — already hugely successful in Curitiba (Brazil), Singapore, and Bogota, amongst other cities — that would be life-altering for many New Yorkers. Hopefully this re-framing of the debate will reveal politicians’ disingenuous “pro-working class” rhetoric for the smokescreen that it is, and shed some light on the reality of who stands to benefit most from congestion pricing.

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 don’t earn roughly HALF the income of those who do.

Actually, what they don’t mention here is that 97.3% of Brooklyn’s workers (those who do not commute alone to the Central Business District in Manhattan by private car) would be positively affected by the transit improvements that revenue from congestion pricing is targeted to fund (in addition to the millions in federal grants at stake).

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 those who make the least should pay the most and those who make the most should pay the least”.

I agree with Mr. Jeffries’ equation, just not with the driving part: those who truly make the least are also the least likely to own cars! With rising gas prices far out of any local control, what elected officials (and, frankly, everyone in this city) should be worrying about is how to create a public transit infrastructure that gives every New Yorker, especially those of less financial means, equal access to a decent car-free commute. At the moment Brooklyn’s wealthiest neighborhoods are also the ones best served by public transit; if people who live in those districts choose to drive, they are also the ones best equipped to pay a premium for it, and to finance a better transit system for the rest of us.

I would go on to say that if Jeffries is truly concerned about “those who make the least”, he should work on providing them with a safe bicycle network, which would bring their commute costs close to zero. More people on bicycles and fewer in cars would also be a great boon for public health: less pollution and more exercise is a win-win. As Enrique Peñalosa, former mayor of Bogota, explained the motivation to improve his city’s bicycle infrastructure (in leiu of building an elevated highway around the city), it “sends a message that a citizen on a $30 bike is as important as one in a $30,000 car”.

Here is today’s last word on the subject, from a youth activist:

“Congestion pricing would not only help get cars off the road, leading to a reduction of pollution, but will reduce the upper respiratory diseases that have settled in the lungs of my mom, cousins, aunts, uncles, abuelas, abuelos and even my little brother,” said 16-year-old Joaquin Brito, a youth justice organizer with UPROSE, a Sunset Park–based activist group.

Brito scoffed at politicians who claimed congestion pricing would be an unfair economic burden on drivers.

“If you can afford to pay $8 for a venti latte and a cookie from Starbucks every day, then you can afford congestion pricing,” he said.

I hope Perry and Jeffries are listening.

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 pricing could be more accurately called the transit relief fund, the mass transit incentive, or the rush hour fee, according to Joe Brewer, research fellow at George Lakoff’s Rockridge Institute. It could also be called security pricing.”

Here’s the whole article:

Despite the new enthusiasm for green initiatives in New York City, the congestion pricing at the core of the PlaNYC transportation program is still getting the cold shoulder from a substantial number of City residents and lawmakers. Hoping to redirect some travelers to mass transit, Mayor Bloomberg wants to charge a fee to cars and trucks entering midtown Manhattan during the day. The fees, with city and state contributions, would fund $31 billion in metro area mass transit projects and would help unclog our streets and reduce carbon emissions.

Critics agree that more mass transit funding is needed, but oppose the fees as a punitive tax on working class outer-borough residents. Both critics and supporters implicitly assume that the price of gas will remain basically stable, a faith shared by the general public, as shown in a recent Gallup poll where 58% of Americans expected gasoline to reach $4 this summer but almost all doubted it would go higher. In addition, most said that higher prices would not convince them to get to work by carpooling, biking, telecommuting or mass transit.

(more…)

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 I have only dreamed of until now. Here are a couple of choice bits:

Q. What will you specifically do to change the institutional bias of DOT away from moving cars, and towards moving people?

A. Commissioner Sadik-Khan: PlaNYC explicitly makes mass transit, cycling and walking transportation priorities for the city, so the change in emphasis you and many other New Yorkers are looking for is in the works. My team at DOT — newcomers and veterans alike — are focused on bringing about congestion pricing and all the measures that complement it, including an expanded and better bicycle network, bus rapid transit lines, traffic calming and new public spaces.

(on Congestion Pricing)

Commissioner Sadik-Khan: All travel in the city and the region involves costs and choices. With congestion pricing, we are seeking to alter somewhat the calculation people use to make those choices.

The question isn’t whether we pay to get around our City, but how. The alternative to the Mayor’s plan is to continue to pay in the form of wasted time, costly deliveries and polluted air. Congestion pricing, by reducing traffic jams and allowing us to pay for long awaited mass transit improvements, will secure a greater and greener City for our children.

Expanded and better bicycle network! Traffic calming! Bus Rapid Transit lanes!! The revolution is on.

City Room’s complete Answers from the Transportation Commissioner Part 1 can be read here.