Congestion pricing is the key to making a wide array of management strategies effective to solve New York City's growing traffic crisis in the long run, according to testimony by Michael Replogle, a former transportation consultant for the U.S. Federal Highway Administration. Replogle was speaking at a public hearing hosted by the New York City Traffic Mitigation[Reduction] Commission.
“There are no easy political solutions to the city's growing traffic jams that waste our precious time, harm our health, damage our region's economy, and contribute to global warming and other environmental problems," said Replogle, a civil engineer who currently is the transportation director for Environmental Defense. "World-wide experience shows that congestion pricing is the only proven method that cuts congestion, while ensuring other traffic alleviation alternatives achieve long-lasting results."
The New York City Traffic Mitigation Commission is a 17-member commission mandated by the state legislature that held the second evening of hearings to get public input for solutions to New York City's ever-worsening road congestion that costs drivers in the region more than a full work week each year stuck in traffic.