Bloomy Lays Out Plans for the Future of NYC
Mayor Michael Bloomberg outlined a sweeping package of proposals Sunday to deal with a population boom that will strain the city's transportation, energy, water and housing networks in the coming years, including a plan to charge people $8 to enter the busiest parts of Manhattan.
``Let's face up to the fact that our population growth is putting our city on a collision course with the environment, which itself is growing more unstable and uncertain,'' Bloomberg said at the start of his address at the American Museum of Natural History.
The most controversial idea in the plan, which was put together by the mayor's Office of Long-term Planning and Sustainability, is a proposal for a three-year pilot program to charge motorists extra to drive into the most congested swath of Manhattan, which officials say will reduce traffic and pollution while generating money for other transit projects _ nearly $400 million in just its first year.
There would be no toll booths, just a network of cameras that capture license plate numbers and either charge a driver's existing commuter account or generate a bill to be paid each time. Trucks would be charged $21 a day while cars would pay $8 to enter the zone of Manhattan below 86th Street on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
The major thruways along Manhattan's east and west sides would not be included, so it would be possible to go from Brooklyn to Harlem along the FDR Drive without entering the zone. Also, commuters who already pay a toll to come into Manhattan via tolls and tunnels would pay the price of the new fee minus that previous toll.
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