Yes. Let's fund a study if necessary to see where road pricing might be most effective. The surrounding neighborhoods will benefit from less congestion, less noise, and less asthma.

I have been not only open to, but a loud supporter of tolling the East and Harlem River crossings or, alternatively, some form of congestion pricing for NYC. These plans would have some impact on the Gowanus, BQE and LIE traffic by (1) reducing demand over all as drivers shift to other modes and (2) reducing "forum shopping" as drivers no longer have free alternatives to paid crossings such as the Battery Tunnel.

I have been loathe to embrace a VMT while in the current environment, as electronic tolls and gas taxes achieve most of the same goals in a less intrusive manner. Gas taxes have the additional benefit of encouraging the use of more fuel efficient, less polluting vehicles, to the extent vehicles are used. There will come a day when the standard automotive technology necessitates a shift to VMT, but I don't believe we are close to that point. In the meantime, gas taxes are sorely underpriced. While NY can and should increase gas taxes, ideally the increase should take place at the federal level. Already, the disparity between NY and NJ is glaring - $0.30 per gallon. And NJ's weak gas tax policy has a direct effect on traffic in NYC, both by encouraging driving and ensuring that any NYer visiting NJ will fill their tank on the NJ side.

Your answer is a resounding NO. Bridge tolls is a universally awful idea to raise them... and in fact, there's little reason for the Verrazano to cost $11 per trips, right now. (Higher for trucks) Any other cities' reflections on this matter doesn't apply "famously" or not -- as geographies and population/commuter shifts are vastly different in NYC than anywhere on Earth. I'd go into detail, in person, here. your last line.. about less conjection = benefits, of COURSE is a yes... as any standstill, drive-thru traffic does nothing good from the areas. But tolls won't reduce this, it would fuel the anger of drivers having to use the roadways and in fact, cause more fataliies as people are backed up... "non-stop tolling?" come on, now.

Since the congestion exists mainly in Manhattan the solutions ought to be Manhattan based. I support increasing the costs of metered parking and garage taxes in congested areas. I support a congestion surcharge for taxi fares for riders in and out of the Manhattan business districts at peak times. I support metering for loading and unloading trucks in the Manhattan business districts from 7am to 11am and 3:30 pm to 7:30 pm. I support the use of revenues raised to be dedicated primarily to the MTA and partially to alternative transportation such as the creation of true bicycle lanes and bicycle parking areas. At this time, I think road pricing in the outer boroughs would merely divert vehicular traffic from the expressways to our local streets, causing a negative impact on the surrounding neighborhoods.

I support road-pricing strategies and do believe they have the potential to reduce the amount of cars on the road; this will lower asthma rates, reduce carbon emissions, and contribute to a better quality of life for New Yorkers. Representing Brooklyn, I would make sure that any congestion pricing plan would not unfairly burden people in the outer boroughs (i.e. middle to lower income Brooklynites, the elderly or infirm, people with large families, small business owners, and special groups, such as musicians with large instruments for whom public transportation may not be a viable option, nor have the unintended effect of causing an increase in congestion and parking problems in our neighborhoods. That being said, I will work very hard to create a congestion plan that works for New York City. The evidence that congestion pricing works is irrefutable and the benefits are immense.

I fully supported the Mayor’s congestion pricing plan. I believe that congestion in the Central Business District (CBD) would improve with pricing measures that remove the incentive for trucks to pass through the CBD even though their trips neither originate nor end there. Likewise, the costs to travel on major arteries should accurately reflect the “external costs” such as congestion and pollution. We should actively seek consistent funding streams to finance the expansion of mass transit options where they do not currently exist.

I believe that any proposals designed to reduce congestion - which would be both beneficial to people who have to drive, as well as to the general public in terms of abating our City's impact on the environment and improving health by removing harmful pollution from our air - should be entertained and given due consideration. My principal concern is that any efforts to reduce the number of miles that people drive are all but certain to increase demand for public transit. As in the case of the plan proposed by the Mayor in 2008, improvements in transit were promised for the future, while ridership would have increased more or less right away. It's not fair to existing transit riders or to those being priced out of using their cars to leave them with inadequate options for public transportation. So with that said, I would support efforts to reduce the number of miles people drive in their cars, so long as we find ways to simultaneously increase mass transit options for New Yorkers.

No. Though I believe that congestion and pollution are significant problems, I don't believe that further restricting or taxing New Yorkers is fair or appropriate. Part of the congestion comes from the fact that restrictive parking regulations and insanely high parking taxes lead people to drive simply to move their cars in accordance with street cleaning rules or to find a parking space. When I lived in Crown Heights, moving my car for street cleaning rules was so difficult that I wound up driving my car to work when I had intended to bicycle.
More punishment is not the answer. If public transportation was reliable and efficient, people would see it as an attractive alternative to driving. At present, many do not.

I voted in favor of congestion pricing and am disappointed that it didn’t come up for a vote in Albany. Not only would congestion pricing have reduced traffic and improved our air quality, it would have raised much needed funds for mass transit too.

The data out there has shown that road pricing strategies do change travel choices and I assume that would hold true for New York City too.

Undoubtedly, a reduction in traffic on our city’s major entry-points would help our local economy and have the positive effect of making our city safer, cleaner, and more vibrant.

In New York City, I do not believe that a road pricing strategy would change many New Yorkers' travel choices. As a result, I do not think this would be an effective way to reduce traffic. I believe that such plans could result in yet another tax, in effect, on the working middle class of New YOrk City. We need to find other more innovative methods for reducing traffic becuase such reduction would naturally benefit surrounding neighborhoods with a reduction in noise and pollution.