All the democratic candidates for mayor of New York said they did not favor East River bridge tolls during a debate this past Tuesday. The glass-half-full interpretation of the exchange is that it is difficult for political candidates to favor new tolls or charges for motorists, but that the successful example of congestion charging in London has put the issue permanently on the agenda for large, traffic-clogged cities like New York.  The question is when a leader like London mayor Ken Livingstone will appear and take hold of pricing as a transportation and quality of life solution.  If one of the contending Democrats is elected, the answer for New York may be: sometime after 2009.

The less optimistic perspective acknowledges that discourse on traffic management and road pricing in much of the city’s top political circles exists on a spectrum ranging from garbled to clueless.  None of the candidates seemed aware that the Port Authority already has implemented congestion pricing on its NYC-NJ crossings, for instance.

Ferrer’s comments ricocheted from “higher MTA tolls are appropriate” and “we’ve got to get people to use mass transit” to “free East River bridges are essential for many peoples’ livelihoods.”  No thought was apparently given to the effects of congestion on the livelihood of a tradesperson who needs to drive about town.  His statement that London is not as big or complex as New York reportedly had the audience scratching their heads.

Miller said some economic incentives could be appropriate for influencing truck traffic before changing the subject to investing in mass transit by implementing a transit-dedicated commuter tax.  Interestingly, Miller noted that “I can't tell you how many people come up to me every day and say: Just get me to work on time. That's it. Just get me to work on time,” but did not reflect on how chronic traffic congestion is a major factor in that problem for a great many New Yorkers, motorists and bus riders alike.

Weiner called East River tolls “a regressive tax on middle class New Yorkers in Brooklyn and Queens and Staten Island” without any reference to the fact that those who drive over the bridges earn more than $14,000 on average than those who do not.  Weiner said the city should invest in ferries like his Rockaways-Manhattan plan. He also said there should be some incentive for trucks serving large establishments to deliver at night.  His comment that more New Yorkers should drive hybrid-power vehicles was not germane to a discussion about traffic congestion. 

C. Virginia Fields said she was open to congestion pricing, but offered no specifics and said she opposed East River bridge tolls. 

In the debate, all of the candidates advocated more effort on mass transit security (see below).  Weiner said he would change the system that gives the city a small minority on the MTA board, arguing that Albany has too much day-to-day control over factors affecting city life.  Ferrer said Mayor Bloomberg has hurt the transit system by favoring below-market sales of MTA assets to developers. “The Bridge Tolls Advocacy Project had similar reactions to the debate. For more, see http://www.bridgetolls.org/polpolls/dem_debate.htm.”

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