To the Editor:
Re “Governor Puts Price on Driving Into Snarl of Manhattan: $11.52” (front page, Jan. 19):
The congestion pricing proposal is an unfair tax on those who live within the zone, south of 60th Street. I live on West 58th Street and pay an exorbitant rent. This proposal means that someone with a car who offers to drive me home and drop me off at my front door, two blocks into the zone, will have to pay $11.52 extra. At age 86 I appreciate someone driving me home, and it is unfair to make them pay this additional amount, deterring a generous gesture.
Not all who live south of 60th Street are multimillionaires, and a charge such as this will contribute to making Manhattan an exclusive residential area for the very rich.
PAUL SILVERSTONE, NEW YORK
To the Editor:
When considering the best way forward for a congestion pricing plan, those formulating the plan should take into account that no matter where the boundary is set for a congestion fee, drivers will seek to shed their cars in order to avoid the fee, and those living in the neighborhoods just outside the boundary will suffer an immediate decrease in already rare parking spaces, a surge in cabs and car services seeking fares, and an immediate additional burden on already choked subway and bus lines leading into midtown.
At the least, congestion pricing needs to be accompanied by an increase in public transportation.
THOMAS V. CZARNOWSKI, NEW YORK
To the Editor:
A less expensive, easily implemented and more efficient system to reduce traffic congestion in Manhattan’s business district could be a color coding system, inspired by the Don’t Drive Today program used effectively in Mexico City. All registered automobiles, trucks and motorcycles in New York State and those that need to enter the district from Connecticut and New Jersey would apply for a large color-coded sticker to be displayed on the windshield.
If you are “blue,” for example, you cannot enter the district on Monday, “red” on Tuesday and so on. Taxis and disabled drivers would be exempt. Drivers would have to adjust or use public transit for the restricted day. Fines for violators would be steep.
BERNARD HABER
DOUGLASTON, QUEENS
The writer is a retired consulting engineer.
To the Editor:
It is too bad that no thought is being given to creating “park and ride” lots for people coming from farther afield — New England, upstate New York and other locales. Parking at many train stations is limited to residents, and available parking is prohibitively expensive. Alewife station in Cambridge is a good example of easy, affordable access into Boston’s transit system without needing to drive into the city.
With millions of tourists in the city every year, creating a system for those of us who are periodic visitors to better access the subway system or commuter rail could help move the New York area into the 21st century, as well as taking cars off the roads.
NANCY BRAUS, PUTNEY, VT.
To the Editor:
So far I have seen no mention of motorcycles and scooters in discussions about congestion pricing. According to Sam Schwartz’s 2007 traffic study, a 20 percent mode shift from cars to two-wheeled vehicles would, among many other benefits, reduce city traffic delays by 4.6 million hours per year, “or nearly 100 working hours a person.”
Excluding scooters and motorcycles from the proposed new tolls would encourage ridership of fuel-efficient, congestion-reducing vehicles. We should be viewed as part of the city’s traffic solution, not part of the problem.
CHERYL STEWART, NEW YORK
The writer is a founding member of the Sirens Women’s Motorcycle Club of New York City.
To the Editor:
I agree with your Jan. 23 editorial “Drive Into Manhattan? Pay Up” but would hope that the plan would accommodate the disabled who are unable to use public transportation and so must use services like Uber or taxis to get to the doctor and other appointments. Perhaps a specially designed transponder could be made available to those eligible that would eliminate or reduce the congestion fee.
ARTHUR SIEGEL, NEW YORK