There's been a lot of chatter recently on neighborhood listservs about congestion pricing. Before launching into our predictions of how congestion pricing ($8 to drive into Manhattan below 86th St) would impact PLG, let's revisit a traffic control revolution of the past.
Streetsblog posted a great piece yesterday on NYC's original traffic control "scandal": parking meters. Seems at the time drivers felt like the meters were an infringement on their civil rights and akin to an unjust tax on drivers. In fact, parking meters were chided as downright un-American, a perpetually overused term that basically means "I don't like it AND I'm morally superior."
Well, we seem to have gotten beyond that one, haven't we? But we digress...
If Bloomberg gets his way and it costs $8 to drive into Manhattan, what's the likely impact on PLG?
If there are fewer cars driving to Manhattan, there will probably be fewer cars on some of Brooklyn's more hideous thoroughfares - like Flatbush Ave. Under the plan, areas with limited subway access would receive expedited bus lines, provding folks an alternative to driving up Flatbush (or Bedford). We also do not think that the B/Q trains would be any more packed during the morning commute, as it's hard to imagine that anyone with access to the train currently chooses to drive - ridership, therefore, would stay essentially the same or increase negligibly.
We do not think that people would drive to PLG, park and then get on the train. Parking is limited around here, so anyone who wants to park and ride in PLG is hedging their bets.
There are broader issues associated with congestion pricing, most of which are socioeconomic. Be that as it may, we think that the impact of congestion pricing on PLG would be minimal... and a Manhattan with fewer cars sounds just delightful to us.