New York City officials made headlines at the beginning of this year by implementing a hotly debated and long-awaited pricing plan to decrease traffic in Manhattan. Congestion pricing, a tactic used by urban planners for several decades in different corners of the world, has had a two-pronged approach. Its dynamic pricing for certain vehicles and at certain peak hours is meant to decrease volume on busy routes and increase ridership on buses and trains. And the money raised from this traffic tax is supposed to go to NYC’s Metropolitan Transit Authority.
Could congestion pricing help tame Atlanta’s traffic? I posed that question in this column a few months ago. Besides just utter opposition to fees, I figured that the biggest obstacle to congestion pricing in Atlanta would be where the zones and lines are drawn. Unlike Manhattan, Atlanta has many ways in and out. And business and traffic are strewn all over this wide metro area.
I spoke recently with Bryan Mistele, the co-founder and CEO of traffic data firm INRIX. Mistele said that several factors make congestion pricing more sensible in the Big Apple.
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“New York is a little unique, obviously, as it only has a few bridges in and out, right? A couple of tunnels and a few bridges. So very limited access to Manhattan. Very, very dense in terms of the overall urban core,” Mistele explained…