Bloomberg's Green Plan
Mayor Bloomberg announced his vision for a greener city yesterday, Earth Day.
I, personally, really like some of his proposals, particularly the congestion tax. With 1 million new residents expected by 2030, it is time to start thinking of ways to improve the air quality of the city. Whether or not you are a believer in global warming, anyone who has blown their nose after an afternoon walking around the city (for those who haven’t, the tissue ends up black), can appreciate the idea of better air quality.
The idea of congestion pricing is likely to be controversial and unpopular, but I believe it is worth the inconvenience if the end result is a cleaner, more livable city.
I also love the plan for more bike paths!
posted by Jen @ 12:42 PM
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I love more bike paths. My roommates bike all over the city and they love it. It will be an added plus.
One thing I do not get is the contradictory action of trying to limit traffic congestion and making the city's air cleaner but the city has plans to widen Broadway up at 96th street and other Avenues at other locations. I'm not confused by this, rather just annoyed at once again the mayor publicly pushing one agenda but letting things happen right under his nose that he is not paying attention to. This is also very evident in the affordable housing he touts so proudly.
One of the problems of traffic congestion is the pollution caused by idling cars - widening roadways would help ease the the congestion and lessen this. These issues are not contradictory - widening roads helps current traffic issues - instituting a plan for a congestion tax helps prepare the city for the additional 1 million residents expected by 2030.
This new plan sounds good, but in a Left of Center New York, we often need to dive below the surface to find serious problems with proposals. Namely, the Manhattan entry charge. That is to say vehicles will be charged 8 to enter the city and 21 to trucks that deliver anything from tourists to food into the city. Republicans must beware of being labeled as over spenders. Some aspects of this plan would put undue tax on persons of our great city, or rather potential Republican voters, as I like to think.
How would this cause Republicans to be labeled as over spenders?
As for the tax burden, the reason they are proposing this is because we have an extensive public transportation system that commuters should be taking instead, and they are trying to encourage deliveries to be made in off-peak hours.
I think that as a favor to the women of this city, they should expand the tax to Friday and Saturday night so we don't have so many skeazy B&T guys pestering us at clubs and bars every weekend. :)
Bloomberg's vision for the city is less cars, less pollution, and more walkable space. It is developed from a new urbanism type planning theory. Widening roads is completely contradictory to this type of urban planning scheme as it then passes the congestion on to smaller roads. It's a tried and proven theory with implementation all over the United States. Widening roads is contradictory to this type of planning, it is a fact.
Another great example of Bloomberg not paying attention to detail and letting things happen under his nose is the city building lights expose in one of the free papers this morning. Bloomberg announces plans to implement new taxes on us, the taxpayers, for entering the city yet the City leaves their lights on all night and at all hours. Contradictory, no?
And let's not even talk about the Bloomberg headquarters itself which leaves virtually all its lights, plasma's, and electronic displays on all weekend when there is virtually no one there. Granted he's no longer CEO but there are two types of people. One who practices what they preach and those who do not.
Don't get me wrong, Bloomberg has some amazing qualities, but following up where you can and living by example when you have the opportunity is not a strong point of his.
How about breaking the MTA union and demanding some fiscal accountability before proposing new taxes? What's going to happen in another year when the MTA contract is up for renegotiation? Are they going to get another 7% raise or whatever it was for worse service? Frankly, I'm sick of the MTA and its ridiculous waste of money because that comes out of my paycheck. Because of the ridiculousness of the MTA and its complete incompetence, we have to pay more? It's not right but no one has the guts to push this issue.
Wow, you are really bitter towards Bloomberg.
You seem to have completely missed the point of this fee - it is to reduce congestion in midtown to improve air quality, not to raise revenue. This is New York, they can find plenty of less controversial ways to raise taxes. Yes, they should probably be conserving more energy at city buildings and office buildings, but leaving the lights on does not have the same impact on air quality as cars idling in midtown traffic all day long.
As someone who comes in from Queens, Bloomys ides to put a tax on me really irks me... Now that Gos and I are homeowners, I'm paying another astronomical NYC tax -- one that many in NYC (Remember all 5 boroughs, folks) DO NOT PAY. Come on!! Gotta be a better way.
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