Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, Spitzer’s challenger for the Democratic nomination to run for governor, said he would consider paying for transportation improvements by charging congestion fees for motorists. 

   In his remarks on the subject, which apparently took place in conversation with reporters after Elliot Spitzer’s speech on transportation at the Regional Plan Association’s conference last Friday, Suozzi gave the Long Island Expressway as an example of a road that would benefit from congestion- relieving tolls. “Everyone talks about how upset they are with the traffic, and everyone talks about how they want to do something about global warming,”

Suozzi told Newsday on Saturday. “I think this is a proven idea that has worked in other places.”

   Some media outlets predictably pounced on the statement – 1010 WINS, for instance, interviewed L.I.E. drivers, asking if they wanted to pay a toll without mentioning that the point would be to un-jam the highway.  Suozzi said in follow up remarks that the L.I.E. was simply an example, and that he would like a debate on congestion-relief pricing to further develop in the metropolitan region. 

   One way to introduce pricing to the Long Island Expressway would be to allow solo motorists to use the car-pool lane if they pay a toll – a so-called HOT or high-occupancy/toll lane.  Anyone who doesn’t want to pay can sit in traffic in the general lanes, while a paid congestion-free option is preserved in the special lane.  Connecticut is considering such a system for the HOV lanes around Hartford.

   Suozzi’s ideas are less formed than this.  The NY Post reported that Suozzi said he was against East River bridge tolls, but what he would support beyond his L.I.E. example and general references to the congestion charging system in central London is unknown.

   Suozzi criticized Spitzer for not specifying how to pay for the transportation priorities he had outlined, although Spitzer’s proposal for a major Port Authority contribution toward New York transit projects would mark a departure from past MTA capital program financing schemes. 

   In a statement issued following the conference, Suozzi also criticized Spitzer’s strong statements in favor of building a third track on the Long Island Rail Road main line, saying that the process was working and that Spitzer’s allegation that state legislators from Nassau County are delaying it is an exaggeration.  “I’m in favor of the third track, but I am opposed to the idea of condemning people’s property in their backyards to accomplish it. What I've said to the MTA and the Long Island Rail Road is that they should explore using the existing track bed before they make any proposals,” Suozzi said in a statement on his campaign’s web-site: www.tomsuozzi.com. 

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