The end of the NY C-Charge?
Plans for a London-style Congestion Charge in New York have been blocked by the state legislators, it has been reported.
The state assembly is understood to have had until midnight to ratify the scheme that would have seen New Yorkers paying around £4 to enter the busiest parts of Manhattan.
However the assembly avoided the proposal and didn’t even put it to a vote.
This means the city will lose estimated an 350million dollars (£175million) in federal funding and the proposed Congestion Charge apparently in tatters.
New York mayor Michael Bloomberg had backed the plan but now looks like he accepts defeat.
‘Today is a sad day for New Yorkers and a sad day for New York City,’ the mayor said in a statement last night.
‘Not only won't we see the realization of a plan that would have cut traffic, spurred our economy, reduced pollution and improved public health, we will also lose out on nearly 500 million dollars annually for mass transit improvements and 354 million dollars in immediate federal funds.
‘It takes true leadership and courage to embrace new concepts and ideas and to be willing to try something. Unfortunately, both are lacking in the assembly today.’
Congestion Charging had been proposed by Bloomberg last year and he wanted to model it on the scheme in London.
However the plan had met resistance from lawmakers a number of times, who wanted to look at other ways to reduce congestion,
Drivers had also complained, labelling it a tax on motorists.