NYC Congestion Pricing Comment Period Ends Early September
NYC residents who think the MTA’s congestion pricing program (currently set for $23 per day for most vehicles) will be detrimental to small businesses, workers, for hire vehicles, or others, are invited to submit comments to the MTA. Presently for-hire vehicles such as taxis, are not exempt, and are likely to make up a significant portion of those tolled. The taxi workers union is presently fighting for exemptions.
Central Business District Tolling Program
On August 10, 2022, the Triborough Bridge & Tunnel Authority, the New York State Department of Transportation, the New York City Department of Transportation, and the Federal Highway Administration released an Environmental Assessment (EA) of the proposed CBD Tolling Program, which evaluates the effects of the program. The official 30-day public comment period on the Environmental Assessment and the proposed Section 4(f) de minimis impact determination for the CBD Tolling Program commenced August 10, 2022 and will close September 9, 2022.
There will be six virtual Public Hearings to provide information and receive comments on the CBD Tolling Program Environmental Assessment on August 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, and 31, 2022.
Upcoming Public Hearings:
Please note that at hearings where a large number of people have signed up to speak, there may be extended wait times because speakers will be called in the order in which they signed up. Accordingly, you may wish to consider the number of speakers who will speak before you at each hearing indicated below (as of 8:00am August 28, 2022) when signing up to speak. All comments will be considered, regardless of when they are submitted during the comment period.
Sunday, August 28, 2022,1-4 p.m.
Monday, August 29, 2022, 1-4 p.m. (sign up to speak or request services) [219 sign ups]
Tuesday, August 30, 2022, 5-8 p.m. (sign up to speak or request services) [199 sign ups]
Wednesday, August 31, 2022, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (sign up to speak or request services) [180 sign ups]
View recordings of our past public hearings.
View recordings of the presentation in multiple languages.
Locations: Hearings will be virtual via Zoom and livestreamed at mta.info/CBDTP.
Those who want to participate in the hearings may do so:
By PC/Tablet/Smartphone:
Join link: https://mta.zoom.us/j/82606738045
Webinar ID: 826 0673 8045
By Phone:
Dial-in: 1-888-788-0099 (toll-free)
Webinar ID: 826 0673 8045, #, #
Anyone wishing to speak at the hearings will have an opportunity to do so. It is requested, but not required, that those wishing to speak sign up by 7 p.m. the previous day at new.mta.info/project/CBDTP/upcoming-meetings or by calling the Public Hearing Hotline at 646-252-6777.
Rendering of a proposed mast arm housing tolling infrastructure and tolling system equipment over the roadway at Broadway between 60th and 61st Streets. Image Credit – MTA
How the Central Business District Tolling Program Would Work
The Central Business District (CBD) Tolling Program would be the first congestion pricing program in the United States. The Environmental Assessment, which the United States Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration has said we must undertake, looks at the environmental effects of the program.
Congestion pricing has helped other cities around the world and we believe it would also help the people who visit, live, or work in the New York City metropolitan region.
By reducing traffic and helping improve mass transit, the CBD Tolling Program would also make it faster to travel and would improve air quality.
If the CBD Tolling Program Environmental Assessment is approved by the Federal Highway Administration, vehicles that enter or remain in the Central Business District would be tolled.
The toll would be paid using an E-ZPass. If you do not have an E-ZPass, toll bills would be mailed to the address of the registered vehicle owner and are paid using Tolls by Mail.
Banner Image: Home $weet Home. Image Credit – Mika Baumeister
NYC DOT
The New York City Department of Transportation’s (NYC DOT) mission is to provide for the safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible movement of people and goods in the City of New York and to maintain and enhance the transportation infrastructure crucial to the economic vitality and quality of life of our primary customers, City residents.
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