Pump the Brakes on Congestion Pricing
I am calling on my residents, the people of Rockland, to stand united against the MTA’s Central Business District’s Congestion Pricing Plan, which could charge commuters up to an additional $23 to drive into the city.
My own efforts to fight this include a recent press conference with Assemblyman Michael Lawler, a letter submitted to the program’s Traffic Mobility Review Board and speaking at the public hearing for the project’s Environmental Assessment. In that speech I stressed that this County’s “transit desert forces more than 60% of our residents to drive into the city because they have no other way to get there.”
I also underscored the fact that “unlike almost all other members of the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District, Rockland County has no one-seat rail ride to the Central Business District and severely limited mass transit alternatives.”
And let’s be honest – that commute isn’t cheap; our residents have paid heavy tolls on the Tappan Zee Bridge, George Washington Bridge, and Lincoln Tunnel for decades.
All while being subjected to a $40 million annual value gap between what we pay to MTA and what we get in return, equating to a $400 million gap in just the last decade.
The only things this County has received from the MTA are service reductions and increased fares, no improvements to the Pascack Valley Line rail service in 15 years, and no significant improvements to facilities, rolling stock, yards, or equipment.
Adding insult to injury now the MTA wants Rockland commuters to pay even more while all the East River Bridges remain toll free, despite having significant transit options to get into the city from those communities.
While the public hearings have wrapped up written comments are being accepted through September 9th. It is crucial for this County to work collectively as once voice to show this board and the MTA that we already face the highest level of transit inequity in the MTA region.
Your voices are critical to a victory as the MTA needs to see a loud and united front if we are going to stop this plan. Please support us in our fight to protect you and make your voices heard by the MTA.
Submit Comments Online: mta.info/CBDTP/comment
Central Business District Tolling Program (custhelp.com)
Email Comments: [email protected] & [email protected]
